Appendix:Collocations of do, have, make, and take

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 many collocations. For example, what about the shopping? Is it do the shopping, or make the shopping? How about photograph? Do a photograph or make a photograph? Neither! You should take a photograph... and so on. This appendix is an attempt to clear up some of the most common doubts 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, have are in the sense of doing the activity. Have, for instance, normally indicates possession, but that is not the sense of the verb as used in each of the collocations listed in this table. To have a bath, for example, does NOT normally mean to possess a bath. In each case, the idea of the verb is to do the 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.

Collocations

A

make	take	have	notes
	take action		To take action means to act positively and decisively to resolve a problem. (light)
	take advantage, take advantage of	have an advantage	To take advantage of something or someone means to profit from the momentary situation of the person or thing. To have an advantage means to be in a better position than someone else.
make amends			To make amends means to compensate for a loss or injury.
make an application	take an application		To make an application means to apply for something. Usually a job, or a bank account, etc. (light). To take an application from someone means to allow someone to apply to you or to a party whom you are representing.
make an appointment		have an appointment	To make an appointment means to organise a meeting with other people. To have an appointment means you are to participate in a meeting with other people.
make an argument		have an argument	To have an argument with someone means to argue with that person. (light) To make an argument for something means to present a logical argument in its favor.
make arrangements			To make arrangements means to organise or arrange. (light)
make an attempt			To make an attempt means to try, to attempt. (light)

B

do	make	take	have	notes
	make a baby		have a baby	To make a baby is, informally, to engage in sexual intercourse, leading to impregnation. To have a baby is to give birth, to produce a child.
	make a bath	take a bath	have a bath	To take or have a bath is to bathe. (light) To make a bath is to prepare a bath to the right temperature.
	make the bed, make one's bed		have a bed	To make the or one's bed is to arrange its sheets and covers nicely and rectify any disorder that was caused by sleeping in it. To have a bed is to be in possession of a bed.
do one's best, best	make the best of		have the best	If you do your best, it means you have acted correctly and that no-one can expect more from you. To make the best of a situation means to take as much advantage as possible from a bad situation. See take advantage. To have the best is to be in possession of the best of something.
	make a bid	take bids		To make a bid means to bid, to make a monetary or economic offer. (light) To take bids is to solicit offers from several competitors, with the intention of accepting the best bid.
		take a bite	have a bite	To take a bite means to bite. (light) To take a bite and to have a bite both mean to eat a quick, light snack.
	make a bow	take a bow		To make a bow means to bow. (light) To take a bow means to bow (light) or to accept applause. See take a bow.
	make a break	take a break	have a break	To make a break means to try to escape, to break. (light) To take and have a break means 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 a breakthrough		have a breakthrough	To make a breakthrough means to make an important discovery. To have a breakthrough means to realize something about oneself.
do business	make business	take business	have business	To do business means to agree a commercial contract. To have business with someone means to have matters to be settled with that person. To take business is to deprive a competitor of a customer by acquiring that customer. To make business is to create a business opportunity

C

make	take	have	notes
make a cancellation		have a cancellation	To make a cancellation means to cancel. To have a cancellation means 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 care means to to be careful. To take care of someone or something means to look after it. See also take care. To have a care means to be careful because you are upsetting someone.
make certain			To make certain of something means to check that something is correct. See also make sure.
	take a chance, take chances	have a chance	To take a chance means to try something risky. See take a chance. To have a chance means to have some possibility of success.
make a charge	take charge		To make a charge for something means to request money for an item or service; it can also mean to make an accusation. To take charge of something is to assume authority over it.
make a claim	take a claim		To make a claim is usually applied to legal court cases where damages and retribution payments are claimed from the accused. To take a claim is to have someone submit a claim to you
	take a class	have a class, have class	One takes a class for a semester or year or the like; to have (a) class refers to a single class session. (Note that to have class can also mean "to be classy, sophisticated".)
make a complaint	take a complaint		To make a complaint means to complain about bad service or faulty goods (light). To take a complaint means to have someone submit a complaint to you.
make a concession			To make a concession means to concede, to yield to, or grant a request even though it is not in agreement with the normal rules. (light)
make contact (with)			To make contact with someone means to establish communication with them or contact them. (light)
make conversation		have a conversation	To make conversation means to start a conversation with someone with no other aim than to talk and break the silence. To have a conversation means to converse. (light)

D

do	make	take	notes
do a deal	make a deal		To do(US) or make(UK) a deal means to make a contract with someone.
	make a decision	take a decision	To make or take a decision is to decide. (light) Make is about 50 times more common in the US; 7 times in the UK.
	make demands on		To make demands on someone means to give them a lot of work to do or to impose a burden on them.
	make a discovery		To make a discovery is to discover something. (light)

E

do	make	take	have	notes
	make an effort	take (a lot of) effort		To make or put forth an effort is to try. An activity takes a lot of effort when it is very difficult to do, or is strenuous.
	make an enquiry			To make an enquiry means to ask or inquire. (light)
	make an error			To make or commit an error is to err. (light)
		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) set or (US) write it (create it for students to take) and then (US) give it (have the students complete it). To have an exam is to be given it.
	make an example of			To make an example of someone 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 exception is 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 exception to something means to be offended by something, usually something that is said. See also take exception.
	make an excuse, make excuses		have an excuse	To make an excuse means to excuse, to justify or explain the reason for an incorrect action. (light) To have an excuse means to have a good reason for an incorrect action, whether it is stated or not.
do some exercise, do some exercises		take exercise		To take (some) exercise means to exercise the body. (light) Do needs a quantifier. To do some or an exercise means to exercise the body. To do an exercise can 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)

F

do	make	have	notes
do a (UK) favour, (US) favor			To do a favour means to help someone with no thought of reward or payment.
	make a fortune		To make a fortune means to amass wealth.
	make a friend; make friends with		To make friends is to strike up or start a new friendship or become friends.
	make fun of	have fun	To make fun of something or someone is to mock or belittle them. To have fun is to enjoy oneself.

G

do	make	take	have	notes
do (some) good				To do good or some good means to do something constructive or helpful.
			have a grudge	To have a grudge is to maintain a negative feeling against someone or something because of a previous wrong against oneself by that someone or something.

H

do	make	take	have	notes
do (some) harm				To do harm or some harm means to harm, to do something destructive, or hurtful, or unhelpful. (light)
	make headway			To make headway means to progress in the desired direction.
	make a heart	take heart	have a heart, have heart	To make a heart is to create the shape of a heart. To take heart is to be cheered up. To have a heart is to be generous. To have heart is to be courageous or persistent.
		take someone hostage		Means to keep, or retain a person or group of people until a specific demand is met.

I

do	make	take	have	notes
	make an inquiry			To make an inquiry means to ask, to inquire. (light)
	make an investment			To make an investment means to invest time or money. (light)

L

make	take	have	notes
make someone laugh		have a (good) laugh	To have a laugh is to laugh (light), or to enjoy laughing with friends. To make someone laugh is to do or say something that causes that person to laugh.
	take the lead	have 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 make a list means to write a list.
	take a look	have a look	To take or have a look at something means to look at it (with purpose). (light)
make a loss	take a loss		To make or take a loss means to lose money on an investment or a bet.

M

make	take	have	notes
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 for that meal. To make a meal of means to spend more time and energy on some task than it warrants. To take a meal and to have a meal mean to eat the food. (Note: do lunch with someone or have a working lunch means to eat lunch with someone while working at the same time.)
make (a) mention of			To make (a) mention of something is to mention it, to say it or talk about it briefly. (light)
make a mistake			To make a mistake is to err.
make a mockery of			To make a mockery of something or someone is to mock or belittle them. (light)
make a model (of)			to make a 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 make money means to gain monetary income.

N

do	make	take	have	notes
		take a nap	have a nap	to take or have a nap means to nap, sleep for a short while. (light)
	make a noise			To make a noise is the act of creating a sound that can be heard
	make notes	take notes		To make or take notes 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 number		To do a number is to perform an act, usually a song; to take a number is to take a position in a queue.

O

do	make	take	have	notes
do an operation on someone	make an operation			To do an operation means to operate medically on someone. To make an operation means to conclude a business transaction.
	make an opportunity	take an opportunity	have an opportunity	To take an opportunity means to the same as take advantage of a situation. To make an opportunity means to arrange things to your advantage. To have an opportunity means to be at the right place at the right time to do something advantageous.

P

make	take	have	notes
		have a party	To have a party is to organise an informal event with friends, or to enjoy oneself.
make a (tele)phone call	take a (tele)phone call		To make a telephone call is to call another person, to take a telephone call is to receive a call, to be called. To have a telephone call is to participate in a phone call, without reference to who made the phone call.
	take a picture		To take a picture means to capture an image using a photographic camera.
make a plan		have a plan	To make a plan is to develop an idea, to have a plan is 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 point means to state a logical argument. To have a point means to have a valid argument. To take someone's point means to accept someone's argument. To make a point of doing something means to be sure of not forgetting to do it.
make progress			To make progress is to advance.
make a promise to someone	take someone's promise		To make a promise to someone is to affirm, or vow, to do something without fail. To take someone's promise means to accept at their word that they will keep their promise and act accordingly.

R

do	make	take	have	notes
do research				To do research is to try to discover something new by doing experiments. Also it means to discover information by checking through factual books and magazines.
		take a rest	have a rest	To take or have a rest is to rest, or to stop doing something.

S

do	make	take	have	notes
	make sense (of)			To make sense means to communicate clearly and understandably. To make sense of something means to understand it. To have sense means to be sensible.
do the shopping				To do the 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 stop means to take a break in the middle of a journey.
		take a shower	have a shower	To take or have a shower means to wash one's body under a shower to get clean.
	make a suggestion	take someone's suggestion	have a suggestion	To make a suggestion means to present an idea to another person or group for their consideration. To take someone's suggestion means to accept the idea they have presented. To have a suggestion means to have an idea to present. In the past tense it can mean the same as made a suggestion.

T

do	make	take	have	notes
do a talk			have a talk	To have a talk with someone means to speak with them seriously. To do a talk means to give an oral presentation or lecture
	make tea	take tea	have tea	To make tea (or coffee, etc) is to prepare the drink. To take tea and to have tea both mean to drink some tea (or coffee, etc).
do a test		take a test	have a test	To do a test is the same as to do an experiment. For take and have, see the notes for exam.
do time	make time	take (one's) time	have time	To do time means to be a prisoner in prison. To make time for an activity means to arrange one's agenda so that there is enough time to do that activity. If something takes time it means it is not quick to do. To take one's time means to be slow and careful in doing something. If one has time it means one does not need to make time to do an activity.
	make trouble	take trouble	have trouble	To make trouble means to cause or provoke problems for other people. To take trouble means to be meticulous or careful in how one does an activity. To have trouble means to suffer from errors or problems.
do the washing-up				To do the washing-up means to wash the dirty plates, dishes, cutlery, and so on after a meal.
do the dishes				Similarly, to do the dishes means to wash the dirty plates after a meal, and by extension, the other [cutlery]], utensils and crockery.

W

do	make	have	notes
do well			If you do well, it means you have acted correctly and the best you can, or that you are prospering. See also do one's best.
	make a wish		If you make a wish, it means you express, often silently, a desire for some particular outcome.
		have words / a word	To have a word or words with someone is to tell them off or to argue with them.
do (some) work	make work	have work	If you do some work, you are working. You make work (for someone else, or for yourself) when your efforts are counterproductive. To have work is 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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General differences among English light verbs

make

In light-verb constructions "make" implies an active role by the subject, who causes something new to occur or come into existence from pre-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. In addition do is often used when someone performs an action, activity or task.

have

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

get

When used with a participle, it implies a change from a state without the action of the verb to a state with it. For the present participle that means starting to do the (intransitive, continuous) action of the verb. For the past participle that means receiving the action of the verb.

When used with an infinitive, it means that one is allowed to perform the action of the verb, or to assume the state of a stative verb.

When have is followed by got and an infinitive, it means that one must perform the action of the verb, or to assume the state of a stative verb. In other words, it's exactly equivalent to have and the infinitive. In informal, proscribed usage, the word have is left out in the present tense. In such cases, the only way to tell this from the past tense of the get-and-infinitive construction above is through the context.

Appendix:Collocations of do, have, make, and take

Collocations

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

L

M

N

O

P

R

S

T

W

General differences among English light verbs

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