In French, there are two different verbs that can be used in to express that a person is made to feel a certain way: faire vs rendre. You can download a PDF of this lesson guide in my private French Grammar Library.
Some feelings are nouns, and other feelings are adjectives, and different parts of speech call for different verbs.
In English, if we want to say that a person is made to feel a certain way, we just use the verb make and that’s the end of it.
Faire – To Make + Noun
Expressions with faire followed by nouns require the preposition à when followed by a person, and the person is an indirect object.
| French | English |
| faire peur (à quelqu’un) Le bruit fort a fait peur aux chevaux. Le bruit fort leur a fait peur. | “make scared” (frighten someone) The loud noise scared the horses. The loud noise scared them. |
| faire plaisir (à quelqu’un) Ces fleurs vont faire plaisir à Christiane. Ces fleurs vont lui faire plaisir. | make (someone) happy These flowers are going to make Christiane happy. These flowers are going to make her happy. |
Faire – To Make + Verb
When the verb faire comes before an infinitive, the preposition à is not required when followed by a person, and that make the person a direct object. The faire + infinitive construction is called the faire causative.
| French | English |
| faire rire (quelqu’un) Son ami raconte toujours des blagues qui font rire Patrick. Son ami raconte toujours des blagues qui le font rire. | make (someone) laugh His friend is always telling jokes that make Patrick laugh. His friend is always telling jokes that make him laugh. |
| faire travailler (quelqu’un) Tu fais travailler ton fils? Tu le fais travailler? | make (someone) work Are you making your son work? Are you making him work? |
Rendre – To Make + Adjective
The verb rendre is used with adjectives. This rendering often implies a passive action where the subject is affected by an external factor, resulting in a particular emotional or physical state. The preposition à is not required before naming people, so those people are direct objects.
| French | English |
| rendre (quelqu’un) triste La nouvelle de notre déménagement a rendu nos amis tristes. La nouvelle de notre déménagement les a rendu tristes. | make (someone) sad The news of our move made our friends sad. The news of our move made them sad. |
| rendre (quelqu’un) malade Manger du poisson avarié peut vous rendre malade. | make (someone) sick Eating spoiled / rotten fish can make you sick. |
| rendre (quelqu’un) fier / fière Cela rend les parents fiers de voir leurs enfants réussir. Cela les rend fiers de voir leurs enfants réussir. | make (someone) proud It makes parents proud to see their children succeed. It makes them proud to see their children succeed. |
| rendre (quelqu’un) somnolent(e) Certains médicaments rendent Jeanne somnolente. Certains médicaments la rendent somnolente. | make (someone) drowsy Some medications make Jeanne drowsy. Some medications make her drowsy. |
