Japanese verbs have the form called "causative," which can be used to express the idea that someone either makes or lets someone else do something.  The causative form can be derived in the following way:

(a) る-verbs: Drop the final る from the dictionary form and then add させる.

• 食べる　→　食べさせる
• 見る　　→　見させる

(b) う-verbs: Drop the final hiragana character of the dictionary form (かく→か) and add the character in the 1st row within the same column (か→かか) in the hiragana table, and then add せる (かか→かかせる). If the dictionary form ends in hiragana う, drop う, add わ, and then add せる (いわ→いわせる).

(c) Irregular verbs:

• 来(く)る　→　来(こ)させる
• する　→　させる

Please note that regardless of the verb types, the causative form conjugates as a る-verb.

The causative form has two different usages: (1) the "make" causative (i.e. "make someone do something/force someone to do something") and the "let" causative (i.e. "let someone do something/allow someone to do something").

(a) When the causative of a transitive verb is used:

When a transitive verb is used in the causative form, the structure of the causative sentence is as follows:

Person 1は (or が) + person 2 に+ direct object を + tr-V (causative)

If the verb used in the causative form is a transitive verb, the "make" causative and "let" causative sentences look exactly the same. It is often difficult to determine which interpretation is meant if you don’t know the context.

• 部長はスミスさんに新しいプロジェクトの 計画(けいかく)を立(た)てさせました。
  The division manager made/let Mr./Ms. Smith make a plan for the new project.
  
  
• 山下さんのご両親(りょうしん)は山下さんにフランス語を習(なら)わせています。
  Mr./Ms. Yamashita’s parents are making/letting Mr./Ms. Yamashita take French language lessons.

(b) When the causative of an intransitive verb is used:

Intransitive verbs do not take the direct object.  Therefore, when the verb used in the causative form is an intransitive verb, the structures of the "make" and "let" causative sentences are different in most cases.

"Make" causative:

Person 1は (or が) + person 2 を + intr-V (causative)

 

"Let" causative:

Person 1は (or が) + person 2 に + intr-V (causative)

• 部長は大山さんを京都(きょうと)に出張(しゅっちょう)させました。("make" causative)
  The division manager made Mr./Ms. Oyama go to Kyoto on a business trip.
  
  

• 部長は大山さんに京都に出張させました。("let" causative)

  The division manager let Mr./Ms. Oyama go to Kyoto on a business trip.
  

• 社長は運転手(うんてんしゅ)に左の道を行かせました。("make/let" causative)

  The company president made/let the driver take the road on the left.
  
  
• お母さんは太郎(たろう)ちゃんに午前七時に家を出(で)させました。("make/let" causative)
  Taro’s mother made/let Taro leave his house at 7:00am.

Please also note that only "make" causative interpretation is possible for the causative of intransitive verbs depicting some reflexive behavior such as laughing (わらう) and crying (なく).

• ミラーさんはクラスのみんなをわらわせるのが好きです。
  Mr./Ms. Miller likes to make everyone in the class laugh.
  

When a giving or receiving verb (e.g. あげる, くれる, もらう) follows the て-form of the causative, it is almost always interpreted as the "let" causative.

• できるだけ自分の子供にはしたいことをさせてあげたいと思います。
  I want to let my children do things they want to do as much as possible.
  
  
• 両親は私にピアノを習わせてくれました。
  My parents let me take piano lessons.

The / Vて + ください・くれませんか/ pattern or the /Vて + くださいませんか・もらえませんか/ pattern or the /Vて + いただけませんか/ pattern is often used to seek permission to do something and to volunteer to do something.

• ぜひ私にその仕事をさせてください。
  Please let me do that job by all means. (seeking permission or volunteering)
  
  
• この辞書を使わせていただけませんか。
  Could you please let me use this dictionary?
  

The /V (stem) + なさい/ is a gentle, but firm command and it is often used by parents toward their children or by teachers toward students.  It is also used in exam instructions.

• テレビを見ていないで勉強しなさい。(Parents to children)

  Study instead of watching TV!
  
  
• 家に帰ったら、今日、習ったことを復習(ふくしゅう) しなさい。(Teacher to students)
  When you go back home, review what you learned today!

The command for stop doing something is /V-dict + のをやめなさい/.

• 時間です。書くのをやめなさい。(Teacher to students)
  Time is up.  Stop writing!

We already learned a few patterns where the ば-form is used (e.g. ～なければならない・～なければいけない in Lesson 14, ～ばよかった in L20).  In this lesson, we will learn more general ば-conditional sentences, /Pred-1 (ば-form) + pred-2./

Forms

Let's review the ば-form of the predicate first.

(1) Verbal predicate (affirmative)

る-verbs: Drop the final る from the dictionary form and then add れば.

Person-1は (or が) + person-2 に + direct object を + tr-V (causative)

e.g.,

食べる　→　食べれば

見る→見れば

う-verbs: Drop the final hiragana character of the dictionary form and add the character in the 4th row within the same column in the hiragana table, and then add ば.

(2) い-Adjectival predicate (affirmative): Drop the final い from the dictionary form and add ければ.

e.g.,

大きい　→　大きければ

つまらない　→　つまらなければ

Please note the ば-form of いい is よければ, not いければ.

(3) な-Adjectival predicate (affirmative): Add なら to the dictionary form of the な-adjective. 

There is a more formal variant, /な-adjective + であれば/, which is often used in written Japanese.

• しずかだ　→　しずかなら・しずかであれば
  
• 元気だ　→　元気なら・元気であれば

(4) Nominal predicate (affirmative): Add either なら or であれば (for more formal variant) to the noun.

• 日本人だ　→　日本人なら・日本人であれば
• 病気だ　→　病気なら・病気であれば

(5) Negative predicate: Regardless of predicate types, drop the final い from the ない-form and add ければ.  For negative な-adjectival and nominal predicates, the more formal variant is formed by adding でなければ to the dictionary form of the な-adjectival predicate or to the noun.

e.g.,	ねない→ねなければ 行かない→行かなければ	着(き)ない → 着(き)なければ 言わない→言わなければ	来(こ)ない → 来(こ)なければ しない → しなければ
	おもしろくない　→　おもしろくなければ よくない　→　よくなければ 有名じゃない　→　有名じゃなければ・有名でなければ 四年生じゃない → 四年生じゃなければ・四年生でなければ

Usage

The ば-conditional sentences (i.e., /Pred-1 (ば-form) + pred-2/) are primarily used to communicate facts. They indicate the condition Pred-1 under which the consequence Pred-2 will follow ("Provided Pred-1 happens, Pred-2 will follow"). This pattern is usually used to say the condition Pred-1 will ensure a good result in Pred-2.

• 明日、天気がよければ、友だちとテニスをします。
  If the weather is good tomorrow, I will play tennis with my friend.
  
  
• 予習をしなければ、あの先生の授業(じゅぎょう)は分かりません。
  If you don’t do preparatory study, you won’t understand that teacher’s class.
  
  
• あのスーパーに行けば、もっと安く買えます。
  If I go to that supermarket (far away), I can buy (things) more cheaply.
  
  

When the /Pred-1 (ば-form) + pred-2/ pattern is used, the main clause (i.e. pred-2) cannot be a request/command, an invitation/suggestion, or a statement of intention/volition if pred-1 is an action.  Use the /Pred-1 (た-form)ら + pred-2/ pattern if pred-1 is an action.

• スーパーに行けば、オレンジを買ってきてください。[Ungrammatical]
  スーパーに行ったら、オレンジを買ってきてください。
  If you go to a supermarket, please buy oranges (and come back).
  

  
  
  

• 田中さんが来れば、みんなでビデオゲームをしませんか。[Ungrammatical]
  田中さんが来たら、みんなでビデオゲームをしませんか。
  When Mr./Ms. Tanaka come, why don’t we play video games together.
  
  
• 今年の夏に日本に行けば、富士山(ふじさん)にのぼるつもりです。[Ungrammatical]
  今年の夏に日本に行ったら、富士山にのぼるつもりです。
  When I go to Japan this summer, I will intend to climb Mt. Fuji.

If pred-1 is non-action, however, pred-2 can be a request/command, an invitation/suggestion, or a statement of intention/volition.

• スーパーでオレンジが安ければ、五つぐらい買ってきてください。
  If oranges are cheap at the supermarket, please buy 5 or so (and come back) .
  
  
• 今ばん、時間があれば、いっしょにビデオゲームをしませんか。
  If you have time tonight, why don’t we .play video games together.
  
  
• 今年の夏に日本に行ければ、富士山(ふじさん) にのぼるつもりです。
  [The potential form is a non-action.]
  If I can go to Japan this summer, I intend to climb Mt. Fuji.

/Pred-1 (ば-form) + pred-2/ can be used to seek or provide suggestions or advice.

• どうすれば、漢字(かんじ)がおぼえられますか。
  How can I memorize kanji?
  
  
• 手で何回(なんかい)も (many times) 書けば、おぼえられますよ。
  If you write kanji by hand many times, you can memorize it.

ば-conditional sentences can be used to express counter-factual (i.e., contrary-to-fact) wishes or statements.

• もう少し安ければ、買うんですが。
  If it were a little cheaper (than it is), I would buy one.
  
  
• 部屋がもっと広ければいいんだけど。
  I wish my room were more spacious.

Pred-2 in /pred-1 (ば-form) + pred-2/ cannot be in past tense unless this pattern is used to indicate contrary-to-the-past-fact wishes or statements.

• 試験の前にもっと勉強すればよかったんだけど。

  I wish I had studied more before the exam.
  
  
• 夜おそくまでビデオゲームをしなければ、 今朝(けさ)、あさねぼうしなかったんですが。
  If I hadn't played videogames until late at night, I wouldn't have overslept this morning.
  

  What actually happened

In the /Pred-1 (plain) + のに + pred-2/ structure, both pred-1 and pred-2 express facts. This pattern states that despite the fact that pred-1 is the case, and contrary to expectations, pred-2 is also the case.  Because what is expected from pred-1 did not occur, and what is unexpected occurred instead, this structure often expresses the speaker's surprise, disbelief, dissatisfaction, or disappointment.

• お金がないのに、たくさん買い物をしてしまいました。
  In spite of the fact that I don't have (a lot of) money, I did a lot of shopping.
  
  
• 勉強したのに、試験ができませんでした。
  Although I studied, I didn't do well on the exam.

Please note that when pred-1 is non-past affirmative な-adjectival or nominal predicate, だ is replaced by な (e.g. きれいだ→きれいなのに, 日本人だ→日本人なのに).

• 山田さんは親切(しんせつ)なのに、友だちがいません。
  Although Mr./Ms. Yamada is kind, s/he doesn't have a friend.
  
  
• 田中さんはせんこうがドイツ語なのに、ドイツ語があまり話せません。
  Despite the fact that Tanaka’s major is German language, s/he cannot speak German much.

Neither pred-1 nor pred-2 in /pred-1 (plain) + のに + pred-2/ can be a non-factual sentence such as requests, desire, and inferences.

• 知(し)らない漢字(かんじ)やことばがあるのに、 辞書(じしょ)を使わないで読んでください。[Ungrammatical]
  
  
• 知らない漢字やことばがあるかもしれませんが、辞書を使わないで読んでください。
  There may be some kanji and/or words you don’t know, but please read it without using a dictionary.

In Lesson 19, we learned that /N + みたいだ/ can be used to express resemblance to something.  よう works in a similar way and can express resemblance or inference. Unlike みたい which is colloquial and is used mostly in casual conversations, よう is used more broadly in both casual and formal situations.

To create a resemblance/inference expression from a noun, よう requires の after the noun /Noun+のよう～/. If よう follows an い-adjective (#3 below) or a verb (#4 below), の is not needed.

1. シュミットさんの家は大きくてりっぱで、ヨーロッパのお城(しろ)みたいです。
   

   シュミットさんの家は大きくてりっぱで、ヨーロッパのお城のようです。
   Ms. Schmidt’s house is big and magnificent and looks like an European castle.
   
   
2. 南さんは体が大きくてふとっています。すもうとりみたいです。
   南さんは体が大きくてふとっています。すもうとりのようです。
   Mr. Minami is big and fat.  He looks like a sumo wrestler.
   
   
3. あのラーメン屋はいつもこんでいるから、おいしいみたいです。
   あのラーメン屋はいつもこんでいるから、おいしいようです。
   Since that ramen noodle shop is always crowded, it seems their ramen is good.
   
   
4. 今、午前二時ですが、田中さんの部屋は電気がついているから、まだ起きているみたいです。
   今、午前二時ですが、田中さんの部屋は電気がついているから、まだ起きているようです。
   It’s 2 a.m. now.  Since Mr. Tanaka's room is lit, it seems that he is still up.
   
   

Nのような + Noun／Vような + Noun

Both よう and みたい can create a な-adjective-like structure to modify a noun as shown below.

5. グーグルみたいな会社に就職(しゅうしょく)したいです。
   グーグルのような会社に就職したいです。
   I want to get a job at a company like Google.
   
   
6. ひろこさんはハロウィーンのコスプレパーティーに行くような服を着ています。
   Hiroko is wearing clothes that looks as if she is going to a Halloween cosplay party.
   

Caution: When よう creates an adjectival modifier from nouns and verbs, it is not commonly combined with another adjective: 大きいような店 → 大きい店, 有名(ゆうめい)なような店 → 有名(ゆうめい)な店, etc. (FYI: If よう is used at the end of the sentence and not as a noun modifier, this constraint does not apply. Thus, sentence #3 above is correct.)

Nのように + Pred／Vように + Pred

By changing な to に, both よう and みたい can be used to modify a predicate in the ように + Pred pattern.

7. アメリカに住んだことがないのに、山本さんはアメリカ人みたいに英語がじょうずです。
   アメリカに住んだことがないのに、山本さんはアメリカ人のように英語がじょうずです。
   Miss Yamamoto has never lived in the U.S., but she is good at English like an American.
   
   

8. ハーバードやプリンストンみたいにいい大学で勉強したい。
   ハーバードやプリンストンのようにいい大学で勉強したい。
   I want to study at a good university like Harvard and Princeton.