Appendix_Collocations of Do, Have, Make, And Take - Wiktionary

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Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary

This appendix lists collocations of the verbs make, do, take, and have.

In many of these usages the verbs are "light verbs" that lend relatively little semantic content. Other light verbs include: give, pay, put, raise, offer.

For people who are learning English, or even who speak it moderately well, these four verbs present difficulties when it comes to manycollocations. For example, what about the shopping? Is it do the shopping, or make the shopping? How aboutphotograph? Doa photographor

makea photograph? Neither! You should takea photograph... and so on. This appendix is an attempt to clear up some of the most commondoubts and errors.

This is not a definitive list. The intention is orientative. All the following nouns and expressions can, of course, take other verbs. The four options

do, make, take, haveare in the sense of doing the activity. Have, for instance, normally indicates possession, but that is not the sense of theverb as used in each of the collocations listed in this table. To havea bath, for example, does NOT normally mean to possess a bath. In each

case, the idea of the verb is to dothe activity.

Readers of this appendix are strongly recommended to read the main entry for the noun or expression to check for correct usage and meaning.

Contributors are encouraged to place Usage notes into this appendix similarly, and also into the collocate's main entry, such as:

We normally do the shopping.

We normally make or take a (tele)phone call.

...and so on, along with the Appendix:link to this page.

do make take have notes

take actionTo take actionmeans to act positively and decisively to resolve a

problem. (light)

Appendix:Collocations of do, have, make, and take - Wiktionary http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Collocations_of_do,_have,_make,_and_tak

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take

advantage,take

advantage of

have anadvantage

To take advantageof something or someone means to profit from themomentary situation of the person or thing. To have an advantage

means to be in a better position than someone else.

make amends To make amendsmeans to compensate for a loss or injury.

make an

application

take an

application

To make an applicationmeans to apply for something. Usually a job, or a

bank account, etc. (light) To take an applicationmeans to obtain an

application form by removing it from a collection of forms.

make an

appointment

have an

appointment

To make an appointmentmeans to organise a meeting with other

people. To have an appointmentmeans you are to participate in ameeting with other people.

make an

argument

have an

argument

To have an argumentwith someone means to argue with that person.

(light) To make an argumentfor something means to present a logical

argument in its favor.

make

arrangementsTo make arrangementsmeans to organise or arrange. (light)

make an attempt To make an attemptmeans to try, to attempt. (light)

make a baby have a babyTo makea baby is, informally, to engage in sexual intercourse, leading toimpregnation. To havea baby is to give birth, to produce a child.

make a bath take a bath have a bathTo takeor have a bathis to bathe. (light) To makea bath is to prepare abath to the right temperature.

make the bed,make one's bed

have a bed To make theor one's bedis to arrange its sheets and covers nicely andrectify any disorder that was caused by sleeping in it. To havea bed is to

be in possession of a bed.

do one's best,

bestmake the best of have the best

If you doyour best, it means you have acted correctly and that no-one

can expect more from you. To make the best ofa situation means to take

as much advantage as possible from a bad situation. See take

advantage. To have the bestis to be in possession of the best of

something.


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make a bid take bids

To make a bidmeans to bid, to make a monetary or economic offer.

Template:light To take bidsis to solicit offers from several competitors,with the intention of accepting the best bid.

take a bite have a bite To take a bitemeans to bite. (light) To take a biteand to have a bitebothmean to eat a quick, light snack.

make a bow take a bowTo make a bowmeans to bow. (light) To take a bowmeans to bow (light)

or to accept applause. See take a bow.

make a break take a break have a break

To make a breakmeans to try to escape, to break. (light) To takeand

have a breakmeans to rest from work for a short while, to break. (light)

To have a break(more often get a break) also means to be lucky.make abreakthrough

have abreakthrough

To make a breakthroughmeans to make an important discovery. To havea breakthroughmeans to realize something about oneself.

do business take business have business

To do businessmeans to agree a commercial contract. To have business

with someone means to have matters to be settled with that person. To

take businessis to deprive a competitor of a customer by acquiring that

customer.

make a

cancellation

have a

cancellation

To make a cancellationmeans to cancel. To have a cancellationmeans

to have a slot for attendance of an event become available because the

holder of that slot has canceled.

take care, take

care of

have a care

To take caremeans to to be careful. To take care ofsomeone or

something means to look after it. See also take care.

To have a caremeans to be careful because you are upsettingsomeone.

make certainTo make certainof something means to check that something is correct.

See also make sure.

take a chance,

take chanceshave a chance

To take a chancemeans to try something risky. See take a chance. To

have a chancemeans to have some possibility of success.


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make a charge take charge

To make a chargefor something means to request money for an item or

service; it can also mean to make an accusation. To take chargeofsomething is to assume authority over it.

make a claim To make a claimis usually applied to legal court cases where damagesand retribution payments are claimed from the accused.

take a classhave a class,

have class

One takesa class for a semester or year or the like; to have(a) class

refers to a single class session. (Note that to have classcan also mean

"to be classy, sophisticated".)

make a complaintTo make a complaintmeans to complain about bad service or faulty

goods. (light)make aconcession

To make a concessionmeans to concede, to yield to, or grant a requesteven though it is not in agreement with the normal rules. (light)

make contact

(with)

To make contactwith someone means to establish communication with

them or contact them. (light)

make

conversation

have a

conversation

To make conversationmeans to start a conversation with someone with

no other aim than to talk and break the silence. To have a conversationmeans to converse. (light)

do a deal make a deal To do(US) or make(UK) a dealmeans to make a contract with someone.

make a decision take a decision

To makeor take a decisionis to decide. (light)

Makeis about 50 times more common in the US; 7 times in the UK.

make demandson

To make demandson someone means to give them a lot of work to door to impose a burden on them.

make a discovery To make a discoveryis to discover something. (light)

make an efforttake (a lot of)

effort

To makeorput forth an effortis to try. An activity takesa lot of effort

when it is very difficult to do, or is strenuous.

make an enquiry To make an enquirymeans to ask or inquire. (light)

make an error To makeor commit an erroris to err. (light)


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take an exam have an exam

When students take, complete, sit for(UK), or sit(UK) an exam, test, or

quiz, they are tested to demonstrate knowledge or competency;educators (UK) setor (US) writeit (create it for students to take) and

then (US) giveit (have the students complete it). To havean exam is tobe given it.

make an example

of

To make an example ofsomeone is to punish someone to disuade

others from repeating the offense. See make an example of

make an

exception (for)

take exception,

take exception

to

To make an exceptionis to grant a request even though it is not in

agreement with the normal rules. To make an exception for is to

except. (light) See also make a concession. To take exceptionto

something means to be offended by something, usually something that issaid. See also take exception.

make an excuse,

make excuses

have an

excuse

To makean excuse means to excuse, to justify or explain the reason for

an incorrect action. (light) To havean excuse means to have a good

reason for an incorrect action, whether it is stated or not.

do some

exercise, dosome exercises

take exercise

To take (some) exercisemeans to exercise the body. (light) Doneeds a

quantifier. To do someor an exercisemeans to exercise the body. To doan exercisecan also mean to resolve a problem set in a class.

do an

experiment

make an

experiment

To experiment Generally, one does an experiment in a laboratory, and

one makes an experiment when one tries out an idea to see if it works.

(light)

do a (UK)

favour, (US)

favor

To doa favour means to help someone with no thought of reward or

payment.

make a fortune To make a fortunemeans to amass wealth.

make a friend;

make friends with

To make friendsis to strike up or start a new friendship or become

friends.

make fun of have funTo make funof something or someone is to mock or belittle them. To

have funis to enjoy oneself.


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do (some) goodTo dogood or some goodmeans to do something constructive or

helpful.

have a grudge

To have a grudgeis to maintain a negative feeling against someone or

something because of a previous wrong against oneself by thatsomeone or something.

do (some)

harm

To doharm or some harmmeans to harm, to do something destructive,

or hurtful, or unhelpful. (light)

make headway To make headwaymeans to progress in the desired direction.

make a heart take heart have a heart,have heart

To makea heart is to create the shape of a heart. To takeheart is to be

cheered up. To havea heart is to be generous. To have heart is to becourageous or persistent.

take someonehostage

Means to keep, or retain a person or group of people until a specificdemand is met.

make an inquiry To make an inquirymeans to ask, to inquire. (light)

make an

investmentTo make an investmentmeans to invest time or money. (light)

make someone

laugh

have a (good)

laugh

To have a laughis to laugh (light), or to enjoy laughing with friends. To

makesomeone laugh is to do or say something that causes that person

to laugh.

take the leadhave a/the

lead

To take the lead/li:d/ means to be the leader, or to demonstrate the

correct way to do something. Also to gain the lead position in a

competition. (light) To have a lead means to have the lead position.(light)

make a list To makea list means to write a list.

take a look have a lookTo takeor have a lookat something means to look at it (with purpose).

(light)

make a loss take a loss To make or take a lossmeans to lose money on an investment or a bet.

make a meal,make a meal of

take a meal have a meal To make a meal(breakfast, lunch, etc) means to prepare the food forthat meal. To make a meal ofmeans to spend more time and energy on


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some task than it warrants. To take a mealand to have a mealmean to

eat the food. (Note: do lunch with someoneor have a working lunchmeans to eat lunch with someone while working at the same time.)

make (a) mentionof

To make (a) mention ofsomething is to mention it, to say it or talk aboutit briefly. (light)

make a mistake To make a mistakeis to err.

make a mockery

of

To make a mockeryof something or someone is to mock or belittle them.

(light)

make a model

(of)

to makea model means to fabricate or build a model structure. To make

a model of {something} means to model it, to build a model of it. (light)

make money to makemoney means to gain monetary income.

take a nap have a nap to takeor havea nap means to nap, sleep for a short while. (light)

make a noise To makea noise is the act of creating a sound that can be heard

make notes take notesTo makeor takenotes is to write the notes, usually to record on paper

what someone is saying.

make note (of) take note (of) To make note or to take note is to note or notice (something).

do a number take a numberTo doa number is to perform an act, usually a song; to takea number is

to take a position in a queue.

make a

(tele)phone call

take a

(tele)phone

call

To make a telephone callis to call another person, to take a telephone

callis to receive a call, to be called.

do an operation

on someone

make an

operation

To do an operationmeans to operate medically on someone. To make

an operationmeans to conclude a business transaction.

make an

opportunity

take an

opportunity

have an

opportunity

To take an opportunitymeans to the same as take advantageof a

situation. To make an opportunitymeans to arrange things to your

advantage. To have an opportunitymeans to be at the right place at theright time to do something advantageous.

have a party To havea party is to organise an informal event with friends, or to enjoy

Appendix:Collocations of do, have, make, and take Wiktionary http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Collocations_of_do,_have,_make,_and_tak

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oneself.

take a pictureTo takea picture means to capture an image using a photographic

camera.

make a plan have a planTo make a planis to develop an idea, to have a planis possess,

generally in one's mind, an idea that is ready.

make a point,

make a point of

doing s/t

take

someone's

point

have a point

To make a pointmeans to state a logical argument. To have a pointmeans to have a valid argument. To take someone's pointmeans to

accept someone's argument. To make a point of doing somethingmeans

to be sure of not forgetting to do it.

make progress To makeprogress is to advance.

make a promise

to someone

take

someone's

promise

To makea promise to someone is to affirm, or vow, to do something

without fail. To takesomeone's promise means to accept at their word

that they will keep their promise and act accordingly.

do research

To doresearch is to try to discover something new by doing

experiments. Also it means to discover information by checking throughfactual books and magazines.

have a rest To havea rest is to stop doing something.

make sense (of)To make sensemeans to communicate clearly and understandably. To

make sense ofsomething means to understand it.

do the

shopping

To dothe shopping means to go to the local shops to buy household

needs such as food, clothes, cleaning things, and so on.

make a stop To make a stopmeans to have a break in the middle of a journey.

take a shower have a showerTo takeor havea shower means to wash one's body under a shower toget clean.

make a

suggestion

take

someone's

suggestion

To makea suggestion means to present an idea to another person or

group for their consideration. To takesomeone's suggestion means to

accept the idea they have presented and act accordingly.

have a talk to have a talkwith someone means to speak with them seriously.

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make tea take tea have teaTo make tea(or coffee, etc) is to prepare the drink. To take teaand to

have teaboth mean to drink some tea (or coffee, etc).

do a test take a test have a test

To do a testis the same as to do an experiment. For takeand have, see

the notes for exam.

do time make timetake (one's)

timehave time

To do timemeans to be a prisoner in prison. To make timefor an activity

means to arrange one's agenda so that there is enough time to do that

activity. If something takes timeit means it is not quick to do. To take

one's timemeans to be slow and careful in doing something. If one has

timeit means one does not need to make timeto do an activity.

make trouble take trouble have trouble To make troublemeans to cause or provoke problems for other people.To take troublemeans to be meticulous or careful in how one does an

activity. To have troublemeans to suffer from errors or problems.

do the

washing-up

To dothe washing-up means to wash the dirty plates, dishes, cutlery,

and so on after a meal.

do the dishesSimilarly, to dothe dishes means to wash the dirty plates after a meal,

and by extension, the other [cutlery]], utensils and crockery.

do wellIf you dowell, it means you have acted correctly and the best you can.

See also doone's best.

make a wishIf you make a wish, it means you express, often silently, a desire for

some particular outcome.

have words / a

word

To have a wordor wordswith someone is to tell them off or to argue with

them.

do (some) work make work have work

If you dosome work, you are working. You makework (for someone

else, or for yourself) when your efforts are counterproductive. To have

workis to be employed, or to have tasks that require completion.

do homework,

housework etc.Most derivations of work collocate with do.

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1 General differences among English light verbs1.1 make

1.2 take

1.3 do

1.4 have

1.5 get

1.6 hold

1.7 give1.8 pay

1.9 put

1.10 raise

1.11 offer

1.12 set

make

In light-verb constructions "make" implies an active role by the subject, who causes something new to occur or come into existence frompre-existing material or a pre-existing situation or the normal course of events.

take

"Take" implies an active role by the subject, but no change in the object except for its ownership.

do

"Do" implies that the subject is active, but fitting into a pre-existing role.

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have

"Have" implies a greater degree of passivity and no causation.

get

hold

give

"Give" implies a degree of activity by the subject, but also the involvement of a recipient.

pay

put

raise

offer

set

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Appendix_Collocations of Do, Have, Make, And Take - Wiktionary

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