못 -게 하다
stop someone from doing
The causative -게 하다 with 못 inside it. Says one person prevented another from acting — by physically stopping them, not merely by telling them not to.
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When to use it
The base construction is -게 하다, which means making or letting someone do something: 동생을 자게 했어요 (I let my brother sleep). Putting 못 in front of the verb turns it into prevention: 못 자게 했어요 (I kept him from sleeping).
The person being prevented takes 을/를 or 에게/한테. The longer -지 못하게 하다 means the same thing and reads as more formal.
Against -지 말라고 하다, the difference is real. 가지 말라고 했어요 means someone told you not to go; 못 가게 했어요 means they actually stopped you. English “wouldn’t let me go” matches the second.
How to attach it
| Situation | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Preventing | 못 + verb + -게 하다 | 못 가게 했어요 |
| Formal alternative | -지 못하게 하다 | 가지 못하게 했어요 |
| Making, letting | -게 하다 | 자게 했어요 |
| The person affected | 을/를 or 에게/한테 | 동생을 못 가게 했어요 |
| Noun + 하다 verbs | 못 splits them | 공부 못 하게 했어요 |
| Telling, not preventing | -지 말라고 하다 | 가지 말라고 했어요 |
In use
부모님이 저를 못 가게 하셨어요.
My parents wouldn’t let me go.
시끄러워서 아이를 못 자게 했어요.
The noise kept the child from sleeping.
경찰이 사람들을 들어가지 못하게 했어요.
The police prevented people from entering.
비 때문에 아이들을 밖에서 못 놀게 했어요.
The rain meant we couldn’t let the children play outside.
선생님이 시험 중에 말을 못 하게 하셨어요.
The teacher didn’t allow talking during the exam.
동생을 좀 쉬게 해 주세요.
Please let my brother rest a while.
Compared with
-지 말라고 하다
Telling versus stopping. If the person could still have gone, it was a request; if they could not, it was prevention.
가지 말라고 했어요. (they told me not to) / 못 가게 했어요. (they wouldn’t let me)
-게 하다
Without 못 the construction means making or allowing. Both readings exist and context decides which.
자게 했어요. (I let him sleep) / 못 자게 했어요. (I kept him awake)
시키다
시키다 also means making someone do something, but it takes a noun rather than a verb.
공부하게 했어요. / 공부를 시켰어요.
Watch out
선생님이 시험 중에 말을 하게 못 했어요.
선생님이 시험 중에 말을 못 하게 하셨어요.
못 goes in front of the verb being prevented, inside the construction — not in front of 하다 at the end.
부모님이 저를 가지 말라고 못 하게 하셨어요.
부모님이 저를 못 가게 하셨어요.
Do not combine the two constructions. Either they told you not to go, or they stopped you.
아이가 밖에서 못 놀게 했어요.
아이를 밖에서 못 놀게 했어요.
The person being prevented is the object of 하다, so they take 을/를 rather than 이/가.
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