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.