Consider the following sentences:

  1. 子供は本を読む。
  2. 母は子供[に]{LL}本を読ませる。

Since 読む is a transitive verb (i.e.: 本を読む), に is used to mark the _causee_
(i.e.: 子供) for its causative form 読ませる.

Now, consider the following sentences (not sure whether they are correct):

  3. 子供は読む。
  4. 母は子供[を]{LL}読ませる。

Even though, 読む is a verb that accepts a direct object, it's not taking one.
Therefore, を is used to mark the _causee_ 子供 for its causative form 読ませる.

It seems that, what determines whether to choose を or に for marking the
_causee_ in a causative verb, is not the verb per se, but actually **how** the
verb is used in the sentence. Of course, if the verb is intransitive it will
be always を, but for a transitive verb it may be either に or を.

Am I missing something?
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2018-02-16T21:52:13.557
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2018-02-17T07:16:28.787
2018-02-17T07:16:28.787
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question
grammar causation
Choosing に over を in 使役形 depends not solely on the verb