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.
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 causative faire.
| 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. |
Faire vs Rendre Lesson Guide
