causate

Causate is a form of the Italian verb causare, meaning to cause. It appears in two main grammatical uses. The most common is the second person plural present indicative: voi causate, meaning you all cause. This form is used in everyday speech to describe actions performed by multiple people.

Causate also appears as the feminine plural past participle of causare. When used with the auxiliary verb essere to form compound tenses or the passive voice, it agrees in gender and number with the subject. For example: Le conseguenze sono state causate dall’inquinamento (the consequences were caused by pollution). In this usage, causate matches a feminine plural subject such as le cause or le conseguenze.

Ambiguity can arise because causate is spelled the same as the present indicative form for voi causate. Distinction depends on context and, in written Italian, on accompanying auxiliary words or the surrounding sentence structure. If the phrase concerns a completed action or a passive construction, it will typically pair with essere and a past participle like state, esaminate, or simili, to signal the tense and voice.

Etymology and related forms: causare derives from causa, Latin for “cause.” Related forms include causato (masc. sing. past participle), causata (fem. sing. past participle), causati (masc. pl. past participle), and causare in various tenses and moods. See also causes and root verbs such as causa.