grammar · academic

let/make + somebody + bare infinitive

Band 5-6speakingtask2

Use to say someone allows (let) or forces (make) somebody to do something; the verb after the object is the bare infinitive (no to).

Examples

“The coach made the players run extra laps after practice.”

“My parents let me stay out late on my birthday.”

“In the passive, 'make' becomes 'be made to + V': She was made to apologise.”

Band 8 sentence

“The manager made the whole team rework the proposal until it met the department's standards.”

Collocations

  • make someone do sth
  • let someone do sth

Common mistakes

She made me to apologise.→She made me apologise.

My parents let me to go out.→My parents let me go out.

Say it for a higher band

5tell someone to + V→6force/allow someone to + V→7+let/make + somebody + bare infinitive

Synonyms

force someone to + V

allow someone to + V

Easily confused

have/get + object + past participle

“I had my car repaired last week.”

Related words

look forward to + V-ingtry + V-ing / try to + Vfor + somebody + to + Vavoid + V-ingbe likely to + Vbegin / start + V-ing / to + Vprevent + somebody + from + V-ingturn out + to + V

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In Gerunds & infinitives

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