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hacerle o hacerlo/hacerla |
Similar to the verbs of perception, the verbs hacer and dejar can be followed by the infinitive, where they are used in a causative sense meaning 'to allow/let' or 'to force/cause'.1
When using the pronoun, the choice of whether to use the direct object pronoun or indirect object pronoun is highly discussed in the language forums. In Spain, the indirect object pronoun (dativo -le, les) es heavily favoured, especially when the object is male, whereas in many Latin American countries the direct object pronoun (acusativo - lo, la) is more common.2
Although the DPD adheres to the following recommendation, bear in mind that the use of lo for males is rare in many parts of Spain with practically all verbs.
"En estos verbos, la elección del caso depende de las características de la oración de infinitivo. Si el infinitivo construye una oración intransitiva, su sujeto se pronominaliza en acusativo. Si, por el contrario, la oración es transitiva, encontraremos el dativo.
Sin embargo, esta asignación de caso subordinada a la estructura de la oración de infinitivo no es completamente regular en todas las zonas distinguidoras. En las áreas distinguidoras del norte peninsular (los antiguos reinos de León y Aragón), Andalucía oriental o en áreas aisladas, como el campo canario, es posible encontrar el dativo seguido de un infinitivo intransitivo. En cambio, en Andalucía occidental, como uso minoritario, y en Canarias y América, como empleo más extendido, aparece el acusativo aunque el infinitivo sea transitivo:
La madre no le dejó subir al tobogán.
La policía los dejó aparcar el coche en la acera".3
1) The direct object pronoun (acusativo - lo, la) is preferred when the verb in infinitive is intransitive (i.e. no object). Notice how the preferred construction in Spanish is hacer/dejar+verb+person, while in English we nearly always say make/let +person+verb. 4-5
-Hizo llorar a la niña/al niño — He made the girl/boy cry
→La/Lo (Le) hizo llorar— He made her/him cry ['Le hizo llorar' is common in Spain for a male, but significantly less for female, especially when 'hacer' means 'causar' (unintentionally) rather then 'forzar' (intentionally)]
-Dejaron entrar a los alumnos — They let the pupils in
→Los (Les) dejaron entrar — They let them in ['Les' is common in Spain, especially when it means 'permitir' (intentionally or explicitly) rather than 'no impedir/dejar pasar' (unintentionally)]
-Eso hizo entrar en razón a la mujer — That made the woman see sense
→Eso la (le) hizo entrar en razón — That made her see sense
-Sus chistes hacen reír a mi abuela — His jokes make my gran laugh
→Sus chistesla (le) hacen reír — His jokes make her laugh
2) The indirect object pronoun (dativo - le, les) is preferred when the verb in infinitive is transitive (i.e. has a direct object).6
-Hizo comer paella a la niña — He made the girl eat paella
→Le hizo comer paella — He made her eat paella ['La hizo' is not uncommon in some regions]
-Dejó tocar la guitarra al niño — He let the kid play the guitar
→Le dejó tocar la guitarra — He let him play the guitar
-Hizo pensar a Ornath en la diferencia — It made Ornath think about the difference
→Le (la) hizo pensar* en la diferencia — It made her think about the difference
(*Although pensar is not in a transitive state in this sentence, the verb is often used transitively and therefore tends to take the le form in Spain. This is the case for many verbs; e.g. comer(lo), conducir(lo), escribir(lo), etc.)
3) As discussed previously, with the verbs of influence, including obligar, prohibir, and mandar, usage alternates between the infinitive and que+subjunctive with little or no difference in meaning. A clitic pronoun (le/lo/etc.) may be used with the verb 'dejar', and to a lesser extent with 'hacer', in cases where there is an active agent (see agency).7-8
-Eso hizo entrar en razón a la mujer
→Eso la hizo entrar en razón
→→Eso (la??) hizo que entrara en razón [The pronoun is not normally used in this type of example (occasionally in colloquial Spanish) since the subject of 'hacer' (eso) isn't intentionally forcing the person to see sense, but rather causing it to happen]
-Hizo trabajar a su hijo desde muy joven
→Le/Lo hizo trabajar desde muy joven
→→(Le/Lo ) hizo que trabajara desde muy joven [The pronoun may be used, especially in informal spoken Spanish, when the subject (el padre) is intentionally forcing his son to work, rather than causing it to happen]
-Deja hablar a la niña
→Déjala hablar
→→Deja/Déjala que hable [Both possible; the clitic pronoun (la) would normally indicate that the subject is allowing the person to speak intentionally, whereas absence of the pronoun would indicate that the person is letting the situation happen, i.e. not preventing it from happening]
-Dejó tocar la guitarra al niño
→Le dejó tocar la guitarra
→→(Le) Dejó que tocara la guitarra [Both possible; the clitic pronoun (le) would normally indicate that the subject allowed the person to play the guitar intentionally or explicitly, whereas without the pronoun it indicates that the subject let the situation happen, i.e. didn't prevent it from happening]
4) When the object of 'hacer' is not the agent (i.e. the 'doer') of the verb (often with state verbs), the infinitive is generally not possible; in these cases the verb 'hacer' is often best translated as 'to mean' rather than ' to make'.
-Suben los niveles de serotonina, lo cual hace que no puedas parar — Serotonin levels increase, which means you can't stop
→... lo cual te hace no poder parar?? [Sounds awkward]
-Eso ha hecho que la gente tenga que quedarse en casa — That's meant that people have to stay at home
→Eso ha hecho tener que quedarse en casa a la gente?? [Sounds awkward]
Todo ello hace que sea una experiencia inolvidable — All that makes it an unforgettable experience
→Todo ello hace ser inolvidable la experiencia?? [Sounds awkward]
→→Todo ello hace inolvidable la experiencia [With an adjective]
-El Gobierno hizo/dejó que (la crisis) se prolongara — The government made/let it drag on
→El Gobierno hizo/dejó prolongarse la crisis?? [Sounds strange; the infinitive is not usually possible when the object is inanimate, especially with pronominal verbs, except in a number of fixed collocations - see also permitir + infinitive]
→→La hizo/dejó prolongarse??
-Hizo llegar el mensaje / Dejó caer la carta / Dejó pasar la oportunidad / Hacer funcionar la máquina / Inyecciones de bótox para hacer desaparecer las arrugas / Cómo hacer crecer tu negocio [Hacer/Dejar+infinitive can be used with inanimate objects in a number of fixed collocations]
5) As discussed previously, when the verb in infinitive is transitive, the animate object of the verb 'hacer' is sometimes omitted; in this case the action is not attributed to anyone in particular, similar to the English construction 'to have sth done'.
-Les hizo arrancar los árboles del jardín — He made/had them pull the trees out of the garden
→Hizo arrancar los árboles del jardín — He had the trees pulled out of the garden
-El emperador hizo construir un palacio — The emperor had a palace built
→Lo hizo construir — He had it built
→ →Se lo hizo construir — He had it built for himself [Reflexive]
6) Hacer+adjetivo+a alguien has a similar construction; however, use of the dative (le) is heavily favoured when the pronoun refers to a male (especially when there may be ambiguity with lo) and fairly common when feminine.
-El fútbol hace feliz a la gente — Football makes people happy
→La /Le hace feliz — It makes them happy ['La' more common in Latin America; in Spain 'hacer feliz' tends to be used like the 'verbos de afección psíquica', where the dative (le) is used when the subject is not the agent (animate/voluntary)]
→→Hace que (la gente) sea feliz
-La mujer hace feliz a su marido — The woman makes her husband happy
→Su mujer le (lo) hace feliz — His wife makes him happy ['Lo hace feliz' could be ambiguous: ≈she does it happily - see complemento predicativo]
-Hizo posible/necesaria dicha colaboración — It made the collaboration possible/necessary [With inanimate object]
→Hizo que fuera posible/necesaria — It made it possible / meant it was possible/necessary
→→La hizo posible/necesaria
7) When the causative hacer is used with certain pronominal verbs, the reflexive pronoun is often omitted, especially with first- and second-person singular.7-8
-Este trabajo me hace sentir(me) bien — This job makes me feel good
→Te hace sentir(te) bien — It makes you feel good
→Lo/la hace sentirse bien — It makes him/her feel good
→Le hace sentir(se) bien — It makes him feel good
-No me hagas enfadar — Don't make me (get) angry
En La Prensa
Viendo llegar milicianos, los frailes hicieron comer a los críos toda hostia consagrada para impedir su profanación. Diario de León-Jan 22, 2017
La pequeña estatura y la indumentaria de una de las rehenes liberadas hizo pensar a muchos que se trataba de una niña. La Voz de Galicia-Mar 7, 2017
Mercedes no le dejó llevar el programa en ningún momento. Ella habla de lo que quiere, cuando quiere y como le viene en gana. El Mundo-Mar 5, 2017
...futbolista sobre lo sucedido en el partido ante el Deportivo, en el que un choque fortuito con Álex Bergantiños le hizo perder el conocimiento. Cadena SER-Mar 3, 2017
Lo hicieron esperar todo el día en el tribunal. Al final de la tarde fue diferida la audiencia. ABC.es-Mar 3, 2017
In Español-Avanzado Articles
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-hacerle o hacerlo / hacerla | causativo y pronombre clítico-
