Pivotal Sentences with 让 (ràng) – To Ask, To Let, To Make

Pattern

• Subject 1 + 让 + Subject 2 + Verb phrase
• Subject + 让 + Person + Verb + Object

Usage

• The verb 让 (ràng) is a classic causative verb used in pivotal sentences (兼语句), meaning “to ask”, “to tell”, “to allow / let”, or “to cause / make”.
• In a pivotal sentence, the noun or pronoun following 让 serves a dual grammatical function: it is simultaneously the object of 让 and the logical subject of the subsequent verb phrase.
• The standard structure is: Subject 1 + 让 + Pivotal Noun/Pronoun + Verb phrase + (Object).
• For example: 妈妈让我去买东西 ('Mother told me to go buy things'), where 我

Examples

1. 1

   妈妈让我去买东西。

   Māma ràng wǒ qù mǎi dōngxi.

   Mom told me to go buy groceries.

2. 2

   老师让我们写作业。

   Lǎoshī ràng wǒmen xiě zuòyè.

   The teacher asked us to write homework.

3. 3

   请让我看一下。

   Qǐng ràng wǒ kàn yíxià.

   Please let me take a look.

4. 4

   爸爸不让我玩手机。