The four small verbs behind hundreds of everyday phrases, and why you take a photo but make a mistake.
English has four small verbs that do a lot of work: make, do, have and take. Polish often uses one verb, zrobić, where English needs two or three different ones. Let's see what your instincts say.
1. A tourist hands you their phone. Which do you say?
2. Which sentence is correct?
3. Which sounds natural?
Four quick questions. This isn't graded harshly — it just shows us where to focus.
1. "The storm ___ a lot of damage to the roof."
2. "Can I ___ a suggestion?"
3. "It's not hard. Why don't you ___ a go?"
4. "Twenty hotels took part in the survey." Took part means…
Each of these verbs has its own group of nouns. Make usually means you create or produce something: a decision, a mistake, a suggestion. Do is for activities and tasks: research, business, a favour. Have and take are for short actions and experiences: have a chat, take a photo. Browse the examples, then try the quick check.
— Click either cell to see another example.
British speakers love have: have a look, have a go, have a shower, have a break. Take a decision is also normal British English, especially at work.
Americans prefer take: take a look, take a shower, take a break. They almost always say make a decision, not take a decision.
Zrobić leads to "make a photo" and "do a mistake". Fix: take a photo, make a mistake, do research.
Zosia's first week at Northlight Travel began on a grey Monday in September. The office was above a bookshop on a cobbled street in Edinburgh's Old Town, and the team was small: five people, one dog and a coffee machine that nobody really understood. Callum Reid, her team lead, ran her induction himself. On Wednesday the team went outside for a new website picture, and Zosia offered to help. "I can make a photo of you all," she said. Callum gave her a wry smile. "Make one? Are you going to paint us? Most people just take a photo."
She laughed, but two days later it happened again. In an email to Highland Hostels, a new client, she wrote, "I am sorry, I did a mistake with the dates." Callum read it before she pressed Send. "Close," he said. "But in English you make a mistake. You don't do one." Zosia was mortified. Her grammar was good, and she had passed her C1 exam back in Wrocław. Yet these tiny verbs kept giving her away. Callum told her not to worry. The friendly banter in the office, he explained, was the team's way of saying, "You're one of us now."
That weekend she started a "word partners" notebook. Every time she heard a verb and a noun together, she would jot them down. A pattern appeared quickly. Make was for things you create or produce: a decision, a suggestion, a complaint. Do was for activities and tasks: business, homework, a favour. On Monday evening, at her MSc class, she told Dr Fraser that she was doing some research on eco-tourism, and nobody blinked. It felt like a small victory.
By her third week, she was making real progress. She still made the odd blunder. She once asked Priya to "make me a favour", and Priya looked confused for a second. But the slips were rarer now. On Friday, Callum suggested they have a chat over lunch about her first big campaign. "You've done really well," he said. "And you're allowed to take a break from that notebook, you know." Zosia smiled and wrote down take a break.
Tap a highlighted word for pronunciation, meaning and an example. With key phrases on, tap a highlighted phrase to see why it works (and what a less skilful speaker might have said).
1. Why did Callum ask, "Are you going to paint us?"
2. What did Zosia start keeping that weekend?
3. By her third week, Zosia…
All seven words from the text — mixed formats.
1. A "cobbled" street is…
2. Your "induction" at a new job is…
3. A "wry" smile shows that you…
4. If you are "mortified", you are…
5. Office "banter" is…
1. Hang on, let me down the address.
2. Calling the client by the wrong name was a real .
3. I was when I realised everyone had heard me.
4. My lasted three days, and on day one I met the whole team.
Focus — complete the collocation with the right verb (one word)
1. Could you a photo of us in front of the castle?
2. Don't worry. Everyone mistakes in their first month.
3. We've business with Highland Hostels for years.
4. Just your best. Nobody expects you to be perfect.
5. The festival place every August.
6. Can I a quick look at your notes?
Choose the verb that completes each sentence naturally.
Tap the chips in the right order. Three rounds.
Record a 60 to 90 second voice message to a friend about your first weeks in a new job, course or home (real or imagined). Talk about a mistake you made, a decision you have to make and something you'd like to have a go at. Use at least six collocations with make, do, have and take.
You've just started a new job or course. Write an email to a friend about your first weeks: what you've done, a mistake you've made, a decision you need to make and what you'd like to try next. Use at least six collocations with make, do, have and take.
Zosia and Callum are having lunch in a café near the office at the end of her third week.
1. What does Callum say about Zosia's emails?
2. What does Zosia ask Callum to do?
3. When is the photo shoot?
1. Which sentence is correct?
2. Which sentence is correct?
3. "Could you ___ me a favour?"
4. "The meeting will take place on Monday" means the meeting will…
5. "She's ___ good progress with her English."
How your speaking and writing went, by your own checklist.
12 quick questions on Make, Do, Have, Take. It opens in a new tab, so this lesson stays exactly where you left it.
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