Hi, I'm Pato from KANJI-Link. In this video, I would like to explain different ways to
use the causative form in Japanese.
Do you remember the causative form? It is used when we MAKE someone do something or
we LET someone do something. Well, when it is used with this second meaning, it can be
combined with verbs expressing giving or receiving such as AGERU, KURERU, MORAU...etc... This
is what we are going to study in this video.
Let's begin with the conjugation of this verb, UNTEN SURU, to drive. To say "Let someone
drive", I have to use the causative form. UNTEN SURU becomes UNTEN SASERU.
Now, let's imagine the following situation. I am with Mr. Kato, and I let him drive. Of
course, I must use the causative form. WATASHI WA KATO SAN NI UNTEN SASERU. But since the
causative form means both to MAKE someone do something and to LET someone do something,
if I leave it like that, it becomes unclear. When we hear this sentence, we might think
that I forced Mr. KATO to drive. But in this case, Mr Kato wanted to drive, he said UNTEN
SHITAI. So the fact that I let him drive can be considered as a gift, and I can add AGERU.
I turn UNTEN SASERU into UNTEN SASETE AGERU.
Let's imagine the opposite situation. I am with Mr Kato and I want to drive UNTEN SHITAI.
If Mr Kato lets me drive, I can say KATO SAN WA WATASHI NI UNTEN SASERU. But this is not
enough to express my gratitude. I have to turn UNTEN SASERU into UNTEN SASETE KURERU.
By the way, saying UNTEN SHITAI was not very polite. To ask Mr Kato to let me drive, I
should have said UNTEN SASETE KUREMASEN KA. Or I can be even more polite by using honorific
speech, UNTEN SASETE KUDASAIMASEN KA. If this is too long for you, you can be more direct
and just say UNTEN SASETE KUDASAI, please let me drive.
So far, we have seen the forms from the point of view of the giver, Mr Kato, because we
used him as the subject KATO SAN WA. Now let's change our point of view, and study this from
the receiver's side.
What I get from Mr Kato, is the fact that he lets me drive. So if I use myself as the
subject, I can say WATASHI WA KATO SAN NI UNTEN SASETE MORAU. The result is the same
as the causative-passive UNTEN SASERARERU, but this second option implies that I am forced
to drive by Mr Kato and this not what I want to say here. I want to express my gratitude,
so let's forget about the causative-passive and go back to UNTEN SASETE MORAU, I get Mr
Kato to let me drive. This can also be used to make a polite request. Could I receive
from you the fact of letting me drive? I know this is a very strange way to ask for something,
but it's very natural and polite in Japanese. UNTEN SASETE MORAEMASEN KA. Be careful, you
have to use the potential form, could I receive, MORAEMASEN KA. If you just say will I receive,
MORAIMASEN KA, it is not a polite request anymore! Talking about politeness, you can
go even further by using the honorific speech, ITADAKU instead of MORAU. But don't forget
to use the potential form! UNTEN SASETE ITADAKEMASEN KA.
Okay, that was a bit intense, so let's practice and summarize everything.
Imagine there are 2 people, an employee and his boss. The employee wants to go home early,
so he must ask his boss to let him go home. Let's put KAERU at the causative form. It
is a group1 verb ending with RU, so KAERU becomes KAERASERU.
There are many ways to ask for permission, let's summarize all the ways that we have
seen so far. 帰らせてください。帰らせてくれませんか。帰らせてくださいませんか。帰らせてもらえませんか。帰らせていただけませんか。
With such polite requests, I am sure that the boss will say II DESU YO!
Let's report what is happening here. The boss lets him go home. SHACHO WA KAERASETE AGERU.
On the other hand, the employee gets his boss to let him go home. SHAIN WA KAERASETE MORAU.
OK, now imagine that the employee arrives at home and tells his kid that the boss let
him go home early. Using the boss as the subject, he can say
"SHACHO GA KAERASETE KURETA". Using himself, the receiver, as the subject,
he can say "SHACHO NI KAERASETE MORATTA". Although the result is the same, there is
a slight nuance between these sentences. Morau implies that he got something because he asked
for it, so it may be more appropriate to use KAERASETE MORATTA in this case.
OK, I realize this is difficult, but now you know everything you need to know about the
causative form!
If you need to practice all these structures, check out my website, KANJI-Link.com!