Feel free to correct anything wrong. Well I mean this is why I am asking in the first place to be corrected and learn.
The first question and this one probably sounds dumb but here me out: Can a causative sentence be seen as a “because of” sentence? So if I understood it correctly the causative means “make/cause X to do Y” or “Let X do Y” but let’s ignore the latter for this question.
Using this example I have out of Tae Kim’s grammar guide: 先生が学生に宿題をたくさんさせた。Meaning “The teacher made the students do a lot of homework” or “The teacher caused the students do a lot of homework”. Basically meaning “Because of the teacher, the students (had to) do a lot of homework. But would that also work in Japanese. Would for example 先生だから学生が宿題をたくさんした。or 先生のせいで学生が宿題をたくさんをした。hold the same meaning as 先生が学生に宿題をたくさんさせた。?
My second question about the causative is: Can the causative only be used if X makes, lets Y actively do something or can it also be used to express that X causes Y to passively do something?
Example: If I say 先生が学生に宿題をたくさんさせた。the students will actively do the homework. But if I would say “The wind caused the cup to fall from the table” the cup doesn’t fall actively, it has no free will. Would causative be possible here. 風がカップにテーベるから落ちさせた。
2 comments
causative is both allowed-to and forced-to, depending on context
often, くださる or くれる is added to emphasize the allowed-to aspect
先生が学生に宿題をたくさんさせてくれた = sensei let the students study a lot
yes you can use it for allowing or forcing things with no free will to occur
[https://www.tofugu.com/japanese-grammar/verb-causative-form-saseru/](https://www.tofugu.com/japanese-grammar/verb-causative-form-saseru/)
There’s no “because of” meaning or translation. Someone prompted others to act. Your “because of” if looking for “fault” or “benediction.”
If you wanted to show either you’d use のせいで (because of someone/something) for fault, or のおかげで (because of someone/something) to show the source of help.
きびしい先生のせいで宿題がたくさんあって、パーティーに行けなかった。Because of my strict teacher, there was a lot of homework and I couldn’t go to the party.
きびしい先生のおかげで、日本語の能力が上達した。Thanks to my strict teacher, my Japanese proficiency has improved.
だから shows a reason.
先生だから、きびしくて、宿題をたくさん与える。Because (s)he’s a teacher, (s)he’s strict and assigns a lot of homework.