[Grammar] make somebody do something

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englishhobby

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I need to make an exercise for my students to practice the structure "to make somebody do something". To my distress, I can't think of any "proper" sentences with the structure - all of them imply some "violence", e.g. Make her do the cooking. (It's not good when people are made to do something against their will.) :-?

I have thought of only one which doesn't sound so "brutal": Please make him stay with us for some more time.
Could you help me and give some more ideas?
:?:
 

MikeNewYork

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I think you have to face the fact that the structure itself implies some type of force, albeit not necessarily violence.
 

Roman55

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I am not a teacher.

Please make yourself comfortable.
 

englishhobby

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I am not a teacher.

Please make yourself comfortable.

Sorry, it's not what I need. I need the structure "to make somebody DO something".
 

englishhobby

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I think you have to face the fact that the structure itself implies some type of force, albeit not necessarily violence.

I agree, but here's one more - He always makes me laugh/smile (no force, hopefully). :) Maybe you can think of similar ones?
 

bhaisahab

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She makes me feel ecstatic! ;-)
 

emsr2d2

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As you can see englishhobby, there are different ways to use and interpret "to make somebody do something".

He makes me do the washing up = He forces me to do the washing up
He makes me feel ecstatic = He causes me to feel ecstatic

(In case of confusion, "to do the washing up" = "to do the dishes".)
 

Roman55

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Sorry, it's not what I need. I need the structure "to make somebody DO something".

I am not a teacher.

I understood what you meant. My post was a little facetious, but not entirely at odds with what you wanted. It amounts to asking someone to make himself do something.
 

englishhobby

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As you can see englishhobby, there are different ways to use and interpret "to make somebody do something".
He makes me do the washing up = He forces me to do the washing up
He makes me feel ecstatic = He causes me to feel ecstatic


The second meaning of "make sb do something" (= to cause somebody behave in a certain way) is also OK, I need examples with it too. Are there any more examples?
 

englishhobby

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I am not a teacher.

I understood what you meant. My post was a little facetious, but not entirely at odds with what you wanted. It amounts to asking someone to make himself do something.

Even if you meant it humorously, I still can't make it out, because comfortable is an adjective, not a verb. Is it something that native speakers only can get? :-?

She always makes me feel comfortable. - this one is OK for me, so thank you for the idea. (Though i am not sure in which situation one could use it.)
 
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emsr2d2

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"She always makes me feel comfortable" would be perfectly acceptable and comes under the usage (loosely) of "She always causes ...". However, that's not quite accurate. It's more like "Whenever I am in her company, I feel comfortable. She facilitates that feeling".
 
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