CEFR B2 · 5 min
In English, you do not ‘make’ homework — you ‘do’ it. You do not ‘do’ a mistake — you ‘make’ one. These are collocations: word partnerships that native speakers use automatically, without thinking. I learned mine slowly, by ear, working at The Ivy. Every menu description, every briefing, every order — patterns emerged. English is a language of partnerships.
Today's focus: Verb-noun collocations: make/do/take/have; adjective-noun collocations
MAKE: make a mistake, make a decision, make an effort, make progress, make a reservation, make a suggestion
DO: do homework, do research, do the washing up, do business, do damage, do well
TAKE: take a break, take responsibility, take a seat, take action, take part (in)
HAVE: have a meeting, have a conversation, have an argument, have difficulty, have an opportunity
Adjective-noun collocations: heavy traffic · strong coffee · golden opportunity · deep sleep · high demand · bitter disappointment
Examples in context
Try it — click to reveal the answer
▶ Which is correct? (a) ‘make homework’ (b) ‘do homework’ (c) ‘have homework’
‘Make’ is for creating or producing something. ‘Homework’ is a task, not a created object.
▶ Fill: ‘They ___ a meeting to discuss the budget.’ (had / made / did)
Other ‘have’ collocations: have a conversation, have a break, have an idea, have difficulty.
▶ Which adjective fits? ‘___ traffic delayed us by an hour.’ (strong / heavy / big)
Collocations are irrational — you simply have to learn the pairs. ‘Heavy rain’, ‘heavy traffic’, ‘heavy workload.’
Learn collocations as fixed pairs, not individual words. The fastest way: read and listen widely and notice what comes before and after your target word. Do homework. Make a mistake. Have a meeting.
Independent project; not affiliated with, endorsed by, or accredited by Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Confers no qualification. Cambridge CELTA course completed — 120 supervised teaching hours and four written assignments validated to the required standard.