Causative Verbs in English for ESL Learners

Causative Verbs in English for ESL Learners Causative verbs express an action which is caused to happen. In other words, when I have something done for me I cause it to happen. In other words, I do not actually do anything, but ask someone else to do it for me. This is the sense of causative verbs. Intermediate to advanced level English learners should study the causative verb as an alternative to the passive voice.  There are three causative verbs in English:  Make, Have  and  Get. Causative Verbs Explained Causative verbs express the idea of someone causing something to take place. Causative verbs can be similar in meaning to passive verbs. Here are some examples for your comparison: My hair was cut. (passive)I had my hair cut. (causative) In this example, the meaning is the same. Because its difficult to cut your own hair, its understood that someone else cut your hair. The car was washed. (passive)I got the car washed. (causative) These two sentences have a slight difference in meaning. In the first, its possible that the speaker washed the car. In the second, its clear that the speaker paid someone to wash the car.   Generally speaking, the passive voice is used to place emphasis on the action taken. Causatives place the stress on the fact that someone causes something to happen. Causative Verb Examples Jack had his house painted brown and gray.The mother made her son do extra chores because of his behavior.  She had Tom write up a report for the end of the week. The first sentence is similar in meaning to:  Someone painted Jacks house  OR  Jacks house was painted by someone.  The second sentence indicates that the mother caused the boy to take an action. In the third, someone told someone to do something. Makeas a Causative Verb Make as a causative verb expresses the idea that the person requires another person to do something. Subject Make Person Base Form of Verb Peter made her do her homework.The teacher made the students stay after class.The supervisor made the workers continue working in order to meet the deadline. Haveas a Causative Verb Have as a causative verb expresses the idea that the person wants something to be done for them. This causative verb is often used when speaking about various services. There are two forms of the causative verb have. Subject Have Person Base Form of Verb This form indicates that someone causes another person to take an action.  Have  someone do something  is often used to management and work relationships.   They had John arrive early.She had her children cook dinner for her.I had Peter pick up the evening newspaper. Subject Have Object Past Participle This form is used with services that are commonly paid for such as car washing, house painting, dog grooming, etc.   I had my hair cut last Saturday.She had the car washed at the weekend.Mary had the dog groomed at the local pet store.   Note: This form is similar in meaning to the passive. Getas a Causative Verb Get is used as a causative verb in a similar way as have is used with the participle. This expresses the idea that the person wants something to be done for them. The causative verb is often used in a more idiomatic manner than have. Subject Get Person Past Participle They got their house painted last week.Tom got his car washed yesterday.Alison got the painting appraised by an art dealer.   This form is also used for difficult tasks we manage to complete. In this case, there is no causative meaning.   I got the report finished last night.  She finally got her taxes done yesterday.I got the lawn done before dinner.   Have done = Get Done Have done  and  get done  have the same meaning when used to refer to paid services in the past. I had my car washed. I got my car washed.  She had her carpet cleaned. She got her carpet cleaned.

Ghost Hunting is Pure Fiction

Ghost Hunting is Pure Fiction It is interesting that in a time of increasing secularism and a renewed interest in rationality and skepticism, many people still believe in ghosts. Even many of the same people who dont believe in other supernatural entities maintain a belief in ghosts. Ghost hunting is still popular today, with reality  television  shows featuring ghost hunters and ghost hunting specialists that people can literally hire in order to inspect their own homes for ghosts. However, there is no evidence that ghosts even exist or that the  techniques  of ghost hunters are more than pure fiction. The popularity of ghost hunting and the belief in ghosts is not evidence of anything other than the desire to believe in ghosts. The Lack of Evidence for Ghosts and Ghost Hunting One of the reasons why the belief in ghosts persists is that ghosts are often considered invisible. Invisible things are harder to disprove. Many of the superstitions that have lasted a long time are invisible. People can simply claim that the thing in question does exist and that people cant prove that it doesnt exist, thus hiding behind the problem of knowing. Its easier to make this argument with entities that are invisible, intangible, and otherwise nearly beyond detection. People end up with functionally no evidence for them or against them, and the believer can simply appeal to the problem of knowing and win the argument on a technicality. Ghosts Manifest as Electromagnetic Radiation Of course, ghost hunters supposedly say that they can locate ghosts, so they do believe that there is something that separates areas that have ghosts from areas that dont have ghosts. They believe that there is evidence for ghosts. However, the evidence that they do choose could very easily be explained by something else. They use devices all the time that supposedly can be used to pinpoint the location of a ghost. However, these devices are usually just detecting electromagnetic radiation. The electromagnetic radiation levels in a building can vary depending on surrounding or distant power sources and not just the ones that the ghost hunters have immediately identified. One of the biggest tricks of their trade is very easily debunked. You will definitely enjoy reading these articles: Is Science Atheistic? Ghostwriting Can Science Go Too Far? Education and  Pursuit of Right Wisdom Environmental Education and Green Citizenship Extraordinary Claims Require High Standards of Evidence The belief in ghosts is an extraordinary claim that requires equally extraordinary evidence. Ghost hunters have electromagnetic radiation and noises. The existence of ghosts would mean that it was possible for a human consciousness to exist outside of the brain. Scientists have a hard time even quantifying human consciousness, and all evidence suggests that it is a product of mental functioning. As such, it could not exist without brain matter. Electromagnetic radiation and noises are insufficient to explain something as unlikely as ghosts. Old houses are often structurally unsound and they will make funny noises. The human brain is primed to look for patterns. Patterns of noises can easily be imagined as being caused by ghosts in the minds of people who believe in ghosts. People who believe in ghosts will look for even the slightest evidence that ghosts exist in a bias known as confirmation bias. The belief in ghosts is popular because ghosts are defined in such a way that it is difficult to completely discredit their existence. The problem of knowing is an unsolved philosophical problem. However, in order to believe in ghosts or ghost hunting, people need to get some evidence that ghosts exist. The idea that it is possible for human consciousness to exist outside of the body seems to contradict all that is known about human neurology. Ghost hunters will use the noises and electromagnetic radiation in old houses to justify the existence of ghosts. However, finding out that ghosts exist would require scientists to revise their entire understanding of the human brain. Electromagnetic radiation and random noises are easily explained away. They cannot be used as evidence for anything other than the complicated nature of the environment that people are trying to understand.