让 / 叫: Make Someone Do in Chinese
让/叫
让 and 叫 build a "pivotal" sentence: A + 让/叫 + B + verb — A makes, lets, or tells B do something. 妈妈让我早点睡 — Mom makes me sleep early. B is both the object of 让/叫 and the subject of the second verb. 让 leans "let / allow", 叫 leans "tell / order".
Published July 9, 2026
Reviewed July 9, 2026
01 / PATTERN
See the Structure
MODEL
A + 让/叫 + B + Verb (pivotal sentence)
Read the structure
让 and 叫 build a "pivotal" sentence: A + 让/叫 + B + verb — A makes, lets, or tells B do something. 妈妈让我早点睡 — Mom makes me sleep early. B is both the object of 让/叫 and the subject of the second verb. 让 leans "let / allow", 叫 leans "tell / order". Keep the model A + 让/叫 + B + Verb (pivotal sentence) visible while you compare each sentence.
妈妈让我早点睡。
Mom makes me sleep early.
Choose the right context
Making or letting someone do something: 老师让我们写作业。 Telling or asking someone to do it: 妈妈叫我回家。 Negating with 不 before 让/叫: 爸爸不让我出去。
老师让我们写作业。
The teacher has us do homework.
Respect the boundary
Dropping the second verb — the pivot needs B's action: 妈妈让我 needs a verb, e.g. 让我睡觉。 Confusing two scopes of negation — 爸爸不让我出去 means he does not allow it; 爸爸让我不出去 means he tells me not to go out。 Using 让/叫 for your own action — they cause someone else to act.
妈妈让我。
(Mom makes me...)
Repair the pattern
Missing the second verb: A 让/叫 sentence is pivotal — B has to do something. 妈妈让我 leaves out what she makes me do; add the verb: 让我早点睡。 Person (B) and verb in the wrong order: The person B comes right after 让/叫, then the verb: 让 + 我们 + 写作业. Putting the verb before B breaks the pivot structure.
妈妈让我早点睡。
Use the repaired structure without changing the intended meaning.
02 / MAP
Read the Sentence
Read from left to right and notice the job performed by each part. The labels describe this example; they are not a rule that every Chinese sentence must copy.
妈妈让我早点睡。
Mom makes me sleep early.
妈妈
A
This part occupies the A position in the model pattern.
让
让/叫
This part occupies the 让/叫 position in the model pattern.
我
B
This part occupies the B position in the model pattern.
早点
Verb (pivotal sentence)
This part occupies the Verb (pivotal sentence) position in the model pattern.
睡
A
This part occupies the A position in the model pattern.
03 / EXAMPLES
Examples You Can Reuse
Keep the structure stable while changing the people, objects, times, or conditions. Pinyin is shown as reading support; use the Chinese sentence and translation to confirm the grammar relationship.
妈妈让我早点睡。
Mom makes me sleep early.
老师让我们写作业。
The teacher has us do homework.
妈妈叫我回家。
Mom tells me to come home.
爸爸不让我出去。
Dad won't let me go out.
医生让他多喝水。
The doctor tells him to drink more water.
04 / LIMITS
When to Use It — and When Not To
Use it when
- Making or letting someone do something: 老师让我们写作业。
- Telling or asking someone to do it: 妈妈叫我回家。
- Negating with 不 before 让/叫: 爸爸不让我出去。
Do not use it when
- Dropping the second verb — the pivot needs B's action: 妈妈让我 needs a verb, e.g. 让我睡觉。
- Confusing two scopes of negation — 爸爸不让我出去 means he does not allow it; 爸爸让我不出去 means he tells me not to go out。
- Using 让/叫 for your own action — they cause someone else to act.
05 / REPAIR
Compare Right and Wrong
Compare the smallest meaningful change. Each explanation identifies a placement, scope, form, or clause relationship instead of treating the whole sentence as one undifferentiated mistake.
妈妈让我。
妈妈让我早点睡。
Missing the second verb
A 让/叫 sentence is pivotal — B has to do something. 妈妈让我 leaves out what she makes me do; add the verb: 让我早点睡。
老师让写作业我们。
老师让我们写作业。
Person (B) and verb in the wrong order
The person B comes right after 让/叫, then the verb: 让 + 我们 + 写作业. Putting the verb before B breaks the pivot structure.
妈妈让我。
A pivotal sentence needs the second verb: 妈妈让我早点睡。
老师让写作业我们。
Person first, then verb: 老师让我们写作业。
爸爸我不让出去。
Put 不让 before the person: 爸爸不让我出去。
06 / PRACTICE
Practice the Grammar Point
Complete three short tasks in order: judge the pattern, repair a common error, and build the sentence. Feedback is fixed and reviewed, so these activities do not use a checker allowance.
1. Judge the sentence
2. Choose the correction
3. Build the sentence
Build a complete sentence with 让/叫.
07 / APPLY
Apply It in Your Sentence
Write one original sentence with 让/叫. Your draft moves to the checker through this browser session, selects this grammar point as the first review focus, and waits for you to submit.
08 / QUESTIONS
让 / 叫: Make Someone Do Questions
What is a 让/叫 (pivotal) sentence?
A + 让/叫 + B + verb: one noun (B) is both the object of 让/叫 and the subject of the next verb. 妈妈让我学中文 — Mom has me study Chinese.
What is the difference between 让 and 叫?
让 leans "let / allow / have" (老师让我们休息). 叫 leans "tell / order" and is a bit more direct (他叫我等一下). They overlap a lot in everyday speech.
How do I make it negative?
The position changes the meaning. 爸爸不让我出去 means Dad does not allow me to go out; 爸爸让我不出去 means Dad tells me not to go out. Both are grammatical.
09 / SOURCES
Sources and Review Notes
These references support different parts of the lesson. GF0025-2021 supports level placement only; professional grammar works support the explanation, limits, examples, and cross-checks. Their inclusion does not imply endorsement.
Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide, 3rd ed.
Ross, Ma, Chen, He and Yeh · Routledge · 2024
Locator: Construction index and function chapters relevant to 让/叫
Supports the learner-facing account of where 让/叫 appears and what communicative job it performs.
Official sourceChinese: A Comprehensive Grammar, 2nd ed.
Yip and Rimmington · Routledge · 2016
Locator: Relevant sentence and clause chapters for 让/叫
Cross-checks the A + 让/叫 + B + Verb (pivotal sentence) pattern, clause relationship, and limits represented by the reviewed examples.
Official sourceChinese Proficiency Grading Standards for International Chinese Language Education (GF0025-2021)
Ministry of Education and State Language Commission · Ministry of Education of the PRC · 2021
Locator: Appendix A, Level 2 grammar inventory
Supports directory placement at HSK 2; it does not independently prove usage rules.
Official source10 / CONTINUE
Continue with a Connected Rule
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