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object cause a b

by Genjix, December 2, 2010

Messages: 5

Language: English

Genjix (User's profile) December 2, 2010, 2:12:38 AM

how can I say

a caused b to act

should i say:

A kaŭzis ke B aĝis feliĉe

zekebourgeois (User's profile) December 2, 2010, 2:22:02 AM

I'm a beginner myself, but I think that:

A kaŭzis B-on aĝi feliĉe.

is correct.

erinja (User's profile) December 2, 2010, 3:28:42 AM

You need the -u ending here. It's used for imperative but also for cases that would require the subjunctive in many languages.

It should be "A kaŭzis ke B agu"

literally "A caused that B should act"

-u is taught as meaning imperative but really it indicates a desire, wish, aim, request, order, etc. It can be much weaker than a command.

venu! = come!
li venu. = He should come
vi venu = You should come

yugary (User's profile) December 2, 2010, 4:34:58 AM

Am I right in assuming that you're looking for a general way to make verbs causative (i.e., "to make somebody do something")? If so, you can use igi either as a separate verb or as a suffix on a verb root. Although with the verb agi it may seem a little strange, the principle is the same:

A igis B-on agi. / A agigis B-on.

Of course, you'd probably be more likely to use this structure in sentences like the following.

'John made me laugh.' (John caused me to laugh.)
Johano ridigis min. / Johano igis min ridi.

'You pushed me and caused me to fall.'
Via puŝo faligis min. / Via puŝo igis min fali.

Genjix (User's profile) December 2, 2010, 5:30:48 AM

Two quality posts! Thank you, I'll be writing those down ridulo.gif

Peace

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