göra + Adjective
Make + Adjective
Use göra + object + adjective to say that someone or something causes a quality or state: göra någon glad means make someone happy. The object can be a noun or pronoun.
How It Works
The construction göra + adjective is a common way to express that a subject causes an object to enter a new state or acquire a new quality. It directly translates to the English 'make + adjective'.
Structure:
Subject + gör (conjugated) + Object + Adjective
A crucial aspect of this pattern is adjective agreement. An inflecting adjective normally agrees with the object in gender and number. The patterns below illustrate ordinary positive forms; comparative enklare and invariant bra do not add these endings.
- Common-gender singular nouns, and ordinary singular personal reference: An adjective such as glad takes its base form. Mig is a pronoun, not an en-noun.
Ex: Nyheten gör mig glad. (The news makes me happy.) - Ett-words (singular): An adjective such as obehaglig takes its -t form.
Ex: Ljudet gör rummet obehagligt. (The sound makes the room unpleasant.) - Plural (all genders): An adjective such as glad takes its -a form.
Ex: Dina komplimanger gör oss glada. (Your compliments make us happy.)
Comparison with bli + adjective
It's important to distinguish this from the `bli + adjective` pattern.
göra+ adjective is causative: Someone or something causes the change.
Ex: Han gjorde mig arg. (He made me angry.)bli+ adjective is inchoative: Someone or something becomes a certain way.
Ex: Jag blev arg. (I became angry.)
Cause Does Not Mean Deliberate Action
Musiken gör mig lugn and Kritiken gjorde henne osäker name causes without implying that anyone intended the result. A reflexive object is also possible: Han gjorde sig förstådd means He made himself understood.
The adjective is an object predicative. Ordinary predicate agreement uses the indefinite adjective forms even when the object noun is definite: gräset vått, barnen glada. Comparatives such as enklare retain their comparative form.
Examples (5)
- Musiken gör mig lugn.
The music makes me calm.
Word by Word: The music makes me calm.
- Regnet gjorde gräset vått.
The rain made the grass wet.
Word by Word: The rain made the grass wet.
'Gräset' is an ett-word, so the adjective 'våt' becomes 'vått'.
- Hans skämt gjorde alla glada.
His jokes made everyone happy.
Word by Word: His jokes made everyone happy.
'Alla' (everyone) is plural, so the adjective 'glad' becomes 'glada'.
- De har gjort processen mycket enklare.
They have made the process much simpler.
Word by Word: They have made the process much simpler.
Enklare is a comparative adjective and stays unchanged. It does not take an extra -t or -a for agreement.
- Kritiken gjorde henne osäker.
The criticism made her insecure.
Word by Word: The criticism made her insecure.
Common Mistakes
Forgetting to make the adjective agree with the object's gender and number.
Filmen gjorde barnen glad.Filmen gjorde barnen glada.The adjective must agree with the object. Since 'barnen' (the children) is plural, the adjective must be in its plural form, 'glada'.
Omitting the object from göra + object + adjective.
Jag gjorde trött efter den långa promenaden.Jag blev trött efter den långa promenaden.Jag blev trött describes my change of state. In the causative construction, gjorde needs an object before trött. The cause need not be a different person: Jag gjorde mig trött is grammatical and explicitly makes myself the object.
How It Connects
Learn This First
To use the 'göra + adjective' causative construction, you need to understand how adjectives change form to match the person or thing they describe. You also need to be familiar with object pronouns, as they are the most common targets of the action, and the basic conjugation of the verb 'göra'.
- Adjective agreement
The adjective in this construction must agree in gender and number with the object being described (e.g., 'göra honom glad' vs 'göra dem glada').
Level 1 - mig/dig/honom/henneObject Pronouns
This pattern typically involves an object pronoun as the recipient of the action (e.g., 'göra mig arg').
Level 1
Related Patterns
- bli + AdjectiveBecome + Adjective
Contrast: 'göra + adj' is causative (to make something become), while 'bli + adj' is inchoative (to become). They describe the cause vs. the result of a change of state.
Level 4 - låtaLet/have (Causative)
Both can express causation. Göra någon glad describes a resulting state; låta någon gå can express permission, while låta reparera bilen means have the car repaired. Låta is not limited to allowing an action.
Level 4 - Verb + adjective result
Category: 'göra + adjective' is a specific type of resultative construction, where an action (göra) results in a new state (the adjective) for the object.
Level 6
Words in This Pattern
Practice göra + Adjective in Bubblegum
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