Page 45 - English Vocabulary in Use (Pre & Intermediate)

9 Make, do, have, take

There are many common expressions with these verbs, and often they are different in other
languages, so you need to learn them.

Things we make
a mistake (= an error) He made a few mistakes in the exam.
a meal (= prepare and I had to make my own dinner last night.
cook something to eat)
money (= become rich) He made a lot of money when he worked in America.
friends It’s not always easy to make friends in a foreign country.
a decision We can have the red ones or the green ones, but we must
make a decision (choose the red or green) before 6 p.m.
a noise I can’t work when the children make a lot of noise.
progress (U) (= improvement) Her English is good now; she has made a lot of progress.

Things we do
homework (U) I forgot to do my English homework last night.
the housework (U) (= cleaning) My mother does all the housework in our house.
subjects (= study subjects) Did you do English at school?
a course I did a one-week course in word processing.
the shopping (= buy food) I always do the shopping at the weekend.
research (U) (= detailed study He’s doing research in physics at Rome University.
in one subject)
(someone) a favour (= do I don’t have any coffee. Could you do me a favour
something to help someone) and lend me some?
something/anything/nothing I didn’t do anything last night. That boy has done
nothing all day

Things we have
a rest (= relax / do nothing) They had a long rest after the game.
food (= eat food) and drink I had steak but Paul just had a cup of tea.
a drink (= drink something) Let’s have a drink before dinner.
a bath/shower I always have a bath when I get up.
a party I’m having a party for my birthday.
a baby (= be pregnant or give birth) | Mary is having a baby next month.
a (nice/great/terrible) time We had a very nice time in Switzerland last year.

Things we take
an exam (also ‘do an exam’) I’m going to take four exams next month.
a photo She took lots of photos on holiday.
a decision (also ‘make’) I’m not very good at taking decisions.
a shower (also ‘have’) I’m just going to take a shower before lunch.
a bus/train/plane/taxi We were late, so we took a taxi to the airport.
Note: Notice the use of be + adjective [NoT have+-neun] in these expressions:
She was lucky I’m hungry (= I want to eat) I’m thirsty (= I want a drink)

42 English Vocabulary in Use (pre-intermediate & intermediate)