"so when the media show that our favorite characters behave aggressively and that this results in them getting what they want, we have our inhibitions eroded."
In the last phrase "we have our inhibitions eroded.", the verb have is causative?
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Yes, it is causative.– PPHCommented Jun 23, 2022 at 7:57
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1I think the cited example is "unnatural" phrasing anyway. I doubt it came from a native Anglophone - it looks like a peculiar example specifically designed to home in on the distinction between passive and causative verb usages, but all it does for me is prove that those two categories aren't always syntactically useful. The natural phrasing for the context is [When blah blah] ... our inhibitions are eroded.– FumbleFingersCommented Jun 23, 2022 at 11:49
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1...,where the more "explicitly causative" phrasing: the media showing that our favorite characters behaving aggressively results in them getting what they want erodes our inhibitions (with gerund/noun showing being the "causative agent" subject) is syntactically fine - it's just a bit clumsy because the entire subject noun phrase (everything before erodes) is too complex for the context.– FumbleFingersCommented Jun 23, 2022 at 11:56
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1@Fumble I like the details of your explanations regardless of what they are or if they are right.– gomadengCommented Jun 23, 2022 at 17:17
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1 Answer
I have to disagree with @Astralbee's reading.
Firstly the causative case can be used in many tenses including present and future. (source)
Secondly, there is no "past continuous" in the text.
My answer to the question is a simple yes. Yes, it is causative.
