Causative Verbs

Verbs can be divided into two groups according to the structure of their stems. The stems of transitive verbs can be either simple or derived.

Simple stems are the same as the root of the word. Derived transitive stems are formed from the roots by adding the suffixes आ aa and वा vaa:

Ex: करना karnaa - कराना karaanaa - करवाना karvaanaa

समझना samajhnaa - समझाना samjhaanaa - समझवाना samajhvaanaa

When one of these suffixes is added to a simple transitive or intransitive stem, it imparts certain additional shades of meaning to the latter: the idea of compulsion or causing somebody to do something. Such verbs are called causative verbs or causatives.

Some causative verbs express an action which causes another action: the action expressed with the root. Other causatives denote an action made by a person other than the subject, according to the subject's will. The approximate English equivalent to one of the use of the causatives in Hindi is the construction with the verb 'to have' (for example, 'I have my hair cut'; 'she has her watch mended').

The table below gives some examples of derived transitive stems.

Verbal Root

1^st Derived Transitive Stem

2^nd Derived Transitive Stem

कर kar-

'to do'

करा karaa-

'to make do'

करवा karvaa-

'to make do'

बन ban-

'to become, to be made'

बना banaa-

'to make'

बनवा banvaa-

'to have something made'

बदल badal-

'to be changed'

बदला badlaa-

'to change'

बदलवा badalvaa-

'to have something changed'

A significant number of verbs have irregular transitive stems. Some of those stems are formed only by a vowel change, without any suffix:

मर mar- 'to die' - मार maar- 'to kill'

खुल khul- 'to be opened' - खोल khol- 'to open'

फिर phir- 'to go round, to wander' - फेर pher- 'to rotate, to revolve'

When forming both the 1^st and 2^nd derived transitive stems, long vowels in the roots are very often contracted and the vowels o, au, e and ai change to u or i respectively (o, au - with u, e and ai - with i). In such cases, the suffix may be ला laa (in the 1^st stem) and लवा lvaa (in the 2^nd derived stem) instead of आ aa and वा vaa:

Verbal Root	1^st Derived Transitive Stem	2^nd Derived Transitive Stem
पी pii- 'to drink'	पिला pilaa- 'to give to drink'	पिलवा pilvaa- 'to make somebody drink'
सो so- 'to sleep'	सुला sulaa- 'to put to bed, to lull to sleep'	सुलवा sulvaa- 'to have somebody put to bed, to make lull to sleep'
दे de- 'to give'	दिला dilaa- 'to make somebody give something'	दिलवा dilvaa- 'to have something given to somebody'
बैठ baiTh- 'to sit down'	बिठा biThaa- 'to offer a seat'	बिठवा biThvaa- 'to make seat'