In Chinese, verbs such as 使 shǐ ‘cause’/‘make’ and 让 ràng ‘let/permit’ are used to form causative constructions, in which the object of the first verb (e.g. 使 shǐ or 让 ràng) becomes the subject of a second verb:
她让我休几天假。
Tā ràng wǒ xiū jǐ tiān jiǎ 。
(我 wǒ is the object of 让 ràng and the subject of 休假xiū jǐ)
She let me have a few days off.
“砰”的一声，使她吓了一跳。
“Pēng ”de yī shēng，shǐ tā xià le yī tiào。
(她 tā is the object of 使 shǐ and the subject of 吓 xià)
A crashing noise made her jump.
什么使你快乐，什么使你悲伤？
Shí me shǐ nǐ kuài lè，shí me shǐ nǐ bēi shāng？
What makes you happy, what makes you sad?
[1] Yip, P. C., Rimmington, D., Xiaoming, Z., & Henson, R. (2009). Basic Chinese: a grammar and workbook. Taylor & Francis.
