First sentence doesn't have "make" or "get". Still is it causative? What is the differences between these sentences and which one is truer?
- He tried to scare them.
- He tried to make them scared.
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Sign up to join this communityFirst sentence doesn't have "make" or "get". Still is it causative? What is the differences between these sentences and which one is truer?
The infinitive "to scare them" is the complement of the catenative verb "try".
Causative verbs like "make", are generally followed by an object, and a bare infinitive
try to scare them
make him scare them
There are many other catenative verbs: ask, keep, promise, help, want. Catenative verbs can form chains: "He tried to ask to help the woman." (although longer chain get confusing)
Catenative verbs are not usually considered to be caustative verbs.