WHAT could be a most baffling aspect of English to its first-time learners is its use of the so-called causatives. English deploys this strange grammatical structure to denote situations where a person or thing doesn't do the action but causes another person or thing to do it.
Look at how the main verb "have" works as a causative in this sentence: "I'll have Jennifer call you tonight." What, the learner may well ask, does "having Jennifer call" mean? A crude literal translation into Pilipino, for instance, yields this: "Kukunin ko si Jennifer para tawagan ka mamayang gabi." Of course, what the sentence really means is this: "I'll arrange for Jennifer to call you tonight." It's a little bit officious said that way, but it's close.
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