Causative Fare (Fare + Infinitive)

What Is the Causative Fare?

The causative construction 'fare + infinitive' expresses the idea of causing, making, or having someone do something, or having something done. It is one of the most useful and frequent structures in everyday Italian. The person or subject does not perform the action directly — they cause it to happen, either by ordering, allowing, or arranging it. Examples: 'Faccio riparare la macchina.' (I am having the car repaired.) 'La maestra fa leggere gli studenti.' (The teacher makes the students read.) 'Ho fatto venire il medico.' (I had the doctor come.)

• Ho fatto riparare la macchina. — I had the car repaired.
• Faccio studiare i miei figli ogni giorno. — I make my children study every day.
• Il capo ha fatto lavorare tutti fino a tardi. — The boss made everyone work late.
• Farò venire un idraulico. — I will have a plumber come.
• Ha fatto aspettare tutti per un'ora. — He/She made everyone wait for an hour.

Adding the Agent: Who Does the Action?

When you want to specify WHO performs the action (the agent), Italian uses 'a + noun' or 'da + noun' after the infinitive. Both are used in contemporary Italian, though 'a' is more common in spoken language and 'da' is more formal or literary. With 'a': 'Ho fatto riparare la macchina al meccanico.' (I had the mechanic repair the car.) With 'da': 'Ho fatto riparare la macchina dal meccanico.' (I had the car repaired by the mechanic.) If there is only ONE object (no direct object of the infinitive), that single object is treated as a direct object of fare.

Pronoun Replacement in Causative Fare

When the objects of a causative construction are replaced by pronouns, specific rules apply. The direct object pronoun replaces the object of the infinitive and is placed BEFORE the conjugated fare (or attached to an infinitive/gerund fare). If there were two objects, the person (agent) becomes an indirect object pronoun (gli/le for singular; gli for plural). Examples: 'Faccio riparare la macchina.' → 'La faccio riparare.' (I have it repaired.) 'Faccio cantare Maria.' → 'La faccio cantare.' (I make her sing.) 'Faccio riparare la macchina al meccanico.' → 'Gliela faccio riparare.' (I have him repair it.)

Farsi Causativo: Getting Something Done for Oneself

When the subject arranges something to be done for themselves (reflexive causative), Italian uses 'farsi + infinitive'. This is extremely common in everyday speech. The reflexive pronoun (mi, ti, si, ci, vi, si) precedes the conjugated form of fare, or attaches to an infinitive fare. Examples: 'Mi faccio tagliare i capelli.' (I am having my hair cut. / I get my hair cut.) 'Si è fatto costruire una casa.' (He had a house built for himself.) 'Ti fai consegnare la spesa a casa?' (Do you have groceries delivered to your home?)

• Mi sono fatta tagliare i capelli dal parrucchiere. — I had my hair cut at the hairdresser's.
• Si fa sempre servire dalla moglie. — He always gets his wife to serve him.
• Ci siamo fatti portare a casa. — We had ourselves driven home.
• Ti fai fare tutto dagli altri! — You have everything done by others!
• Mi faccio consegnare i pacchi in ufficio. — I have packages delivered to my office.

Lasciare + Infinitive: Letting / Allowing

A closely related construction is 'lasciare + infinitive', which means to let, allow, or permit someone to do something. The structure is identical to fare causativo, but the meaning is different: fare = cause/make/have; lasciare = let/allow/leave. Examples: 'Lascia parlare Marco.' (Let Marco speak.) 'Non lasciare entrare nessuno.' (Don't let anyone in.) 'La mamma ha lasciato guardare la TV ai bambini.' (The mother let the children watch TV.) Pronouns work the same way: 'Lasciala parlare.' (Let her speak.) 'Non li lasciare uscire.' (Don't let them go out.)

Past Participle Agreement with Fare Causativo

In compound tenses (like passato prossimo), fare causativo always uses 'avere' as the auxiliary — even when the infinitive normally takes 'essere'. This is because fare is the main verb. The past participle 'fatto' can agree with a preceding direct object pronoun (the lo/la/li/le clitics), just as in standard avere agreement. Examples: 'Ho fatto riparare la macchina.' → 'L'ho fatta riparare.' (The -a agrees with 'la macchina', feminine singular.) 'Ho fatto venire i tecnici.' → 'Li ho fatti venire.' (The -i agrees with 'i tecnici', masculine plural.) Note: agreement with preceding pronouns is optional in modern spoken Italian — 'L'ho fatto riparare' is also widely accepted.

• Ho fatto riparare la macchina. → L'ho fatta riparare. — I had it (f.) repaired.
• Ho fatto leggere la lettera. → L'ho fatta leggere. — I had it (f.) read.
• Ho fatto venire i medici. → Li ho fatti venire. — I had them (m.pl.) come.
• Ho fatto pulire le stanze. → Le ho fatte pulire. — I had them (f.pl.) cleaned.
• Mi sono fatta tagliare i capelli. — I had my hair cut (farsi, feminine subject).