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Different Meanings of 'Make' in
Everyday Speech |
Imagine you are watching the 1991 American film City
Slickers. It tells the story of an unhappy man and two
of his friends. The men agree they need a short break
from their day-to-day problems. So they decide to go on
a trip to the southwestern United States.
In the movie, you hear the following lines:
"When you're a teenager, you think you can do anything –
and you do. Your twenties are a blur. Thirties, you
raise your family, you make a little money and you think
to yourself, 'What happened to my twenties?"
Our report today is not about aging. Instead, it is
about a strange verb: make.
Have you ever wondered about the verb make? Have you
noticed that it has different meanings in different
situations?
On Everyday Grammar, we will explore three meanings of
the word make. We will learn how make has different
meanings depending on the noun phrase that follows it in
a sentence.
The verb make
Make is an irregular verb. Unlike many other verbs, the
past tense is not formed by adding an –ed at the end.
Instead, the past tense is made.
The literal meaning of make is "to produce or create
something." However, this meaning is not common in
everyday speech.
Instead, English speakers often use make to suggest
different meanings. They show these meanings by using
one of a number of noun phrases after the verb.
Together, these make+noun phrase structures have an
idiomatic meaning. In other words, the structure make+ a
noun phrase often has a meaning other than what the
individual words suggest.
There are many different meanings of the structure make+
a noun phrase.
Two grammar experts, Susan Conrad and Douglas Biber,
have identified over one dozen commonly-used make + noun
phrase expressions!
Today, we will study three of them. These structures are
all polite and can be used in almost any situation – at
school, at work, or among friends and family.
#1 Perform an action
One common meaning of make is this: to perform an
action.
Make has this meaning when it is followed by a noun
phrase such as the bed or a telephone call.
Here are two examples.
You might hear a parent tell a child, "You need to make
your bed." Or you might hear someone say, "I would like
to make a phone call."
In both examples, the verb make suggests performing an
action. So, when an English speaker says "make the bed,"
he or she means to perform the action of straightening
the bedcover and sheets.
When someone says "make a phone call," he or she means
the act of going to the phone, calling the number, and
speaking to another person.
#2 Plan or decide to do something
A second meaning of the verb make is to plan or decide
to do something. Make has this meaning when followed by
a noun phrase such as an appointment, plans to, or a
decision to.
Imagine you hear this short phone call:
Person 1: Good afternoon, this is Doctor Smith's office.
Person 2: Good afternoon. I would like to make an
appointment with Dr. Smith.
Person 1: I'm sorry, he's not available until Friday.
Would you like to make an appointment for this Friday?
Person 2: I don't think that will work – I've already
made plans to go out of town!
In the exchange, you heard two examples of make+a noun
phrase. The words "make an appointment" mean to plan to
meet with another person.
When the speaker says, "I've already made plans to go
out of town," what she means is that she has already
decided to do something – go out of town.
You will hear this structure often in other situations –
such as in a news report or on a television show. Almost
every day, news agencies report, "The president has made
a decision to… " or "The committee has made plans
to...."
Now you know that they have the basic meaning of
planning or deciding to do something.
#3 Earn money
A third common meaning of make is this: to earn money.
Make has this meaning when followed by noun phrases such
as a living, money, or a profit.
So, for example, a student might say, "Now that I've
finished school, I have to make a living." A
businessperson might explain to a financial specialist,
"My business made a profit last year."
In both cases, make means the act of earning money.
There was an example of this meaning at the beginning of
our report.
"When you're a teenager, you think you can do anything –
and you do. Your twenties are a blur. Thirties, you
raise your family, you make a little money and you think
to yourself, 'What happened to my twenties?"
What can you do?
Now that you have learned about a few meanings of the
verb make, you will have to make an attempt to learn a
few other possible meanings of it.
The next time you are watching an American film or
television broadcast, try to find examples of make+ a
noun phrase.
Ask yourself how the speakers are using make, and what
nouns or noun phrases go with the verb.
Learning these idiomatic meanings of make is not easy.
However, with training and effort, you can make
progress.
I'm Alice Bryant.
And I'm John Russell.
John Russell wrote this story for VOA Learning English.
George Grow was the editor. |
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