Welcome to B2. You open it with a construction that English handles with three different verbs — have, make, get — and French handles with one: faire + infinitive. Je répare la voiture means you are under the bonnet yourself. Je fais réparer la voiture means someone else is, and you are paying for it.
faire + infinitive, with nothing at all between them. The two verbs behave as a single welded unit, and that welding explains every rule that follows.
| French | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Je fais réparer la voiture. | zhuh fay ray-pah-ray lah vwah-TÜR | I'm having the car repaired. |
| Elle fait construire une maison. | el fay kohn-strweer ĂĽn may-ZOHN | She's having a house built. |
| Il m'a fait rire. | eel mah fay REER | He made me laugh. |
| Tu me fais peur. | tĂĽ muh fay PUHR | You're scaring me. |
| Ça m'a fait plaisir. | sah mah fay play-ZEER | That made me happy. |
| Faites-le entrer. | fet luh ahn-TRAY | Show him in. |
Two meanings live in the same structure: having something done (a service) and making someone do something (causing). French does not distinguish them grammatically — context does.
Because faire and the infinitive are welded together, no pronoun can slip between them. Everything goes in front of faire.
| Full | With a pronoun | Never |
|---|---|---|
| Je fais réparer la voiture. | Je la fais réparer. | |
| Il fait rire les enfants. | Il les fait rire. | |
| Elle a fait venir le médecin. | Elle l'a fait venir. |
In the affirmative imperative, the pronoun goes after faire as usual: Fais-le entrer !
In the causative, the past participle fait never agrees. Not with a preceding direct object, not with anything.
Les maisons que j'ai fait construire — not faites.
Je les ai fait venir — not faits.
The logic: the object belongs to the infinitive, not to faire, so faire has nothing to agree with.
This is worth drilling, because everything you learned in Lesson 10 pushes you the other way. Je les ai vues (agreement) but je les ai fait venir (none).
When you name both what gets done and who does it, the thing stays direct and the person is marked with Ă (or par for clarity).
| French | Meaning |
|---|---|
| J'ai fait écrire la lettre à ma sœur. | I had my sister write the letter. |
| J'ai fait écrire la lettre par ma sœur. | I had the letter written by my sister. |
| Le prof fait lire le texte aux élèves. | The teacher has the pupils read the text. |
Par is often preferable because Ă can be ambiguous: J'ai fait envoyer la lettre Ă Marie could mean Marie sent it or Marie received it. Swap in par and the ambiguity disappears. When the doer becomes a pronoun, it is indirect: Je lui ai fait Ă©crire la lettre.
You met this in Lesson 11 as a passive alternative. Now you can see what it really is: the causative with a reflexive subject — having something done to or for yourself.
| French | Pronunciation | Meaning | Willing? |
|---|---|---|---|
| se faire couper les cheveux | suh fair koo-pay lay shuh-VUH | to get one's hair cut | âś… chosen |
| se faire construire une maison | suh fair kohn-strweer ĂĽn may-ZOHN | to have a house built | âś… chosen |
| se faire voler | suh fair vo-LAY | to get robbed | ❌ suffered |
| se faire renvoyer | suh fair rahn-vwah-YAY | to get fired | ❌ suffered |
| se faire avoir | suh fair ah-VWAHR | to get conned | ❌ suffered |
And again: fait stays invariable. Elle s'est fait couper les cheveux, never faite.
These also take a bare infinitive, but they are not welded the way faire is — so their rules are looser in exactly the two places that matter.
| faire | laisser / voir / entendre | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronoun position | Only before faire | Either position: Je l'ai laissé partir / J'ai laissé partir Paul |
| Participle agreement | Never | Agrees when the preceding object is the doer of the infinitive |
Je les ai vus partir — les is doing the leaving, so agreement. Compare Les pièces que j'ai vu jouer — the plays were not doing the playing, so no agreement. (In 1990 the Académie accepted invariable laissé in all cases, so je les ai laissé partir is now also correct.)
| French | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Laisse-moi faire. | les mwah FAIR | Let me do it. |
| Laisse tomber. | les tohn-BAY | Forget it. / Drop it. |
| Je l'ai vu partir. | zhuh lay vĂĽ par-TEER | I saw him leave. |
| Je l'ai entendue chanter. | zhuh lay ahn-tahn-dĂĽ shahn-TAY | I heard her sing. |
| French | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| faire savoir | fair sah-VWAHR | to let (someone) know |
| faire venir | fair vuh-NEER | to send for, to call out |
| faire remarquer | fair ruh-mar-KAY | to point out |
| faire comprendre | fair kohn-PRAHNDR | to get across |
| faire attendre | fair ah-TAHNDR | to keep (someone) waiting |
| faire suivre | fair SWEEVR | to forward (mail) |
Practical life runs on this construction: faire venir un plombier, faire établir un devis, se faire livrer. You will also meet the polite administrative Je vous serais reconnaissant de bien vouloir me faire parvenir… ("I'd be grateful if you would send me…"), which stacks a causative inside a conditional inside a formula — very Lesson 22.
Identical grammar. Québécois is fond of se faire for misfortunes, with some vivid local objects: se faire passer un sapin (to be swindled), se faire planter (to be beaten soundly). You will also hear laisser faire used as a standalone dismissal — Laisse faire, c'est correct — roughly "never mind, it's fine".
Fill in the infinitive.
Rewrite with a pronoun. Fill in the blank.
Write the correct participle.
1. Where does the pronoun go in Je fais réparer la voiture?
2. Les maisons que j'ai fait construire — why no agreement on fait?
3. Elle s'est fait voler son sac means: