Making someone feel or do: làm (cho)

To say that something makes someone feel a certain way, or causes something to happen, use làm or làm cho, then the person, then the result: Bài hát này làm em nhớ nhà. This song makes me homesick. Chuyện đó làm cho cả nhà lo lắm. That got the whole family really worried.

The cause comes first: a thing, an event, or a person who didn't mean it. The result is usually a feeling (buồn, vui, mệt, lo) or something that happens without anyone choosing it: Kẹt xe làm em tới trễ. The traffic made me late (in Hà Nội, Tắc đường làm em đến muộn). Anh làm em giật mình! You made me jump!

Làm alone is the everyday form; cho makes it a little fuller, which helps in a longer sentence.

When a person makes someone do something on purpose, use bắt, or kêu for telling them to: Má bắt em học bài. Làm is for causes, bắt is for decisions.

In the news, khiến often does the job of làm cho: Mưa lớn khiến nhiều con đường bị ngập.