-dir/-tir/-t

Making Someone Do It: -dir and -t

Level 4

Verb stem + -t, -dir or -tir = make or have someone do it: kul- → kuldirmoq (to make laugh), oʻqi- → oʻqitmoq (to teach), ishla- → ishlatmoq (to use).

How It Works

1. Choosing the ending

  • -t after most stems that end in a vowel: oʻqi- → oʻqit- (to teach), ishla- → ishlat- (to use), uxla- → uxlat- (to put to sleep), tuga- → tugat- (to finish something)
  • -dir after most consonants: yoz- → yozdir- (to have written), kul- → kuldir- (to make laugh), bil- → bildir- (to make known)
  • -tir after voiceless consonants and some other stems: kut- → kuttir- (to keep waiting), tushun- → tushuntir- (to explain)

One common verb breaks the pattern: kel- → keltirmoq (to bring), never keldirmoq. Some verbs use other endings such as -ir, -ar or -kaz; see other causative endings.

2. Who does what
The subject is the one who causes the action. If the base verb has no object, the person made to act takes -ni: Masxaraboz bolalarni kuldirdi (The clown made the children laugh). If the base verb already has an object, the person made to act takes -ga: Men xatni tarjimonga yozdirdim (I had the interpreter write the letter).

3. Causatives with their own meaning
Many causatives are ordinary dictionary words: oʻqitmoq (to teach), ishlatmoq (to use), keltirmoq (to bring, and also to give an example: misol keltirmoq), bildirmoq (to express, to announce).

4. Stacking endings
Causative endings can follow other voice endings, as in kiyin- → kiyintirmoq (to dress someone), and a passive ending can come after a causative: oʻqitildi (was taught). See causative plus passive.

Examples (6)

  1. Masxaraboz bolalarni kuldirdi.

    The clown made the children laugh.

    Word by Word: Clown children-(obj.) made-laugh.

  2. Onam bolani uxlatdi.

    My mother put the baby to sleep.

    Word by Word: Mother-my child-(obj.) made-sleep.

    uxla- ends in a vowel, so the causative is uxlat-.

  3. U maktabda ingliz tilini oʻqitadi.

    She teaches English at school.

    Word by Word: She school-at English language-(obj.) makes-study.

  4. Men xatni tarjimonga yozdirdim.

    I had the interpreter write the letter.

    Word by Word: I letter-(obj.) interpreter-to had-written.

    The base verb yozmoq already has an object, so the person who does the writing takes -ga.

  5. Bu telefonni qanday ishlatish kerak?

    How do you use this phone?

    Word by Word: This phone-(obj.) how using needed?

  6. Iltimos, menga bir stakan suv keltiring.

    Please bring me a glass of water.

    Word by Word: Please, me-to one glass water bring.

    kelmoq is the exception: its causative is keltirmoq.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the plain intransitive verb with an object.

    Masxaraboz bolalarni kuldi.
    Masxaraboz bolalarni kuldirdi.

    Kulmoq (to laugh) takes no object. To make someone laugh, you need the causative kuldirmoq.

  • Using -dir with kelmoq.

    Iltimos, menga suv keldiring.
    Iltimos, menga suv keltiring.

    Kelmoq is an exception: its causative is keltirmoq (to bring).

  • Using -dir after a stem that ends in a vowel.

    Onam bolani uxladirdi.
    Onam bolani uxlatdi.

    Stems ending in a vowel, like uxla-, ishla- and oʻqi-, take -t: uxlatdi, ishlatdi, oʻqitdi.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

-dir/-tir/-tLevel 4Making Someone Do It: -dir and -t

Learn This First

Builds on The Passive Voice and Which Case a Verb Takes.