3 · Sentence patterns
Make, let, ask: ràng, jiào, qǐng
pivot sentences
The person after ràng, jiào or qǐng is the object of the first verb and the subject of the second.
In 妈妈让我早一点儿回家, “Mum wants me to come home a bit earlier”, the word 我 does two jobs at once: it is the person Mum tells, and it is the person who comes home. Chinese grammars call such a word a pivot. English slips in “to” before the second verb; Chinese does not — the second verb follows the person directly.
Three verbs carry most of these sentences. 让 is the neutral one: “let”, “allow”, “have somebody do”, “make”. 叫 is more direct and more spoken, “tell somebody to”. 请 asks politely or invites, and also means “treat”: 我请你吃饭 is “dinner is on me”. Others work the same way — 派 (send), 劝 (urge), 要求 (require), and in writing 使 (cause).
Where the negation goes changes the meaning. Before the first verb it denies the permission or the request: 妈妈不让我玩游戏, “Mum does not let me play games”. Before the second verb, usually as 别 or 不要, it is part of the instruction: 医生让我别喝酒, “the doctor told me not to drink”.
With an adjective of feeling, 让 means “make somebody feel”: 这个消息让我很高兴, “the news made me very happy”. English speakers often try 做 for “make” here, but 做 makes things — a meal, a dress — never a feeling in somebody else.
The form
| let, have somebody do | 妈妈让我早一点儿回家。 |
| tell somebody to | 老师叫我们读课文。 |
| invite, treat | 我请你吃饭。 |
| not allow | 爸爸不让我开车。 |
| cause a feeling | 这个消息让我很高兴。 |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
The person stands between the two verbs, with no word for “to”.
经理让我明天再来。The manager told me to come back tomorrow.
让 is the neutral word; 叫 is more direct and spoken.
妈妈叫你快回来。Mum says you are to come back quickly.
请 asks or invites politely, and also means treating somebody.
今天我请大家喝咖啡。The coffee is on me today, everyone.
不 before 让 refuses permission; 别 before the second verb is part of the instruction.
医生不让他喝酒。The doctor does not allow him to drink alcohol.
With an adjective of feeling, 让 means “make somebody feel”.
这部电影让我很感动。This film really moved me.
A closer look
Choosing between ràng, jiào, qǐng and shǐ
The four differ mainly in politeness and register. 请 is the polite request and the invitation; 让 is neutral and fits almost anywhere; 叫 is plain and direct, natural between family members or from a boss; 使 belongs to writing and usually has a thing, not a person, as its subject: 这次经历使他成熟了, “the experience made him grow up”.
With 我as the person让turns into a softener: 让我想一下, “let me think”, 让我来, “let me do it”. And a fixed apology uses it too: 让你久等了, “sorry to have kept you waiting” — literally “I made you wait long”.
How to spot it
- 让
- 叫
- 请
- 使
- 不让
Example sentences
老师让我们每天写日记。The teacher has us write a diary every day.
你叫他过来一下。Tell him to come over for a moment.
朋友请我去他家吃饭。A friend invited me to his home for a meal.
妈妈不让弟弟晚上玩游戏。Mum doesn't let my little brother play games in the evening.
这个结果让大家很失望。The result disappointed everybody.
公司派他去上海工作。The company sent him to work in Shanghai.
8 more example sentences
医生让我多休息。The doctor told me to rest more.
谁叫你来的？Who told you to come?
我想请你帮个忙。I would like to ask you a favour.
他的话让我很不舒服。What he said made me feel very uncomfortable.
老板没让我们加班。The boss didn't make us work overtime.
她劝我别生气。She urged me not to be angry.
爸爸让我别担心。Dad told me not to worry.
这首歌使人想起小时候。This song makes people think back to their childhood.
Worth knowing (1)
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Ràng nǐ jiǔ děng le
A fixed polite phrase built on the same pattern: the speaker takes the blame for “making you wait long”. It is the everyday way to apologise for keeping somebody waiting.
不好意思，让你久等了。Sorry to have kept you waiting.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English “make” covers both making a thing and making somebody feel or do something. Chinese splits them: 做 makes a cake or a dress, and 让 causes a person to feel or act.
Ràng, jiào or qǐng, then the person, then what that person does — and no “to” anywhere.
Your turn
8 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.