Міщенко О.О. «DO» and «MAKE» collocations: general characteristics and the ways of usage
Матеріал з PSYH.KIEV.UA -- Вісник психології і соціальної педагогіки
Міщенко О.О. – студентка Педагогічного інституту Київського університету імені Бориса Грінченка, напрям підготовки «Початкова освіта», кафедра іноземних мов і методик їх навчання Київського університету імені Бориса Грінченка
Анотація: У статті розглядається використання сталих виразів, які містять дієслова. Автор висвітлює загальну характеристику сталих словосполучень у конструкції «дієслово+іменник», а саме словосполучень, що вживаються з дієсловами «do» and «make». Автор визначає їх способи формування та використання, а також виокремлює поради, що полегшать їх засвоєння.
Ключові слова: сталі фрази, словосполучення, сталі вирази, сталі вирази з дієсловом «do», сталі вирази з дієсловом «make»
Аннотация: В статье рассматривается использование устойчивых выражений, содержащих глаголы. Автор исследует особенности устойчивых словосочетаний в конструкции «глагол + существительное», а именно словосочетаний, употребляемых с глаголами «do» и «make», определяет их способы формирования и использования, а также выделяет советы, которые облегчат их усвоение.
Ключевые слова: устойчивые фразы, словосочетания, устойчивые выражения, устойчивые выражения с глаголом «do», устойчивые выражения с глаголом «make».
Annotation: This article considers the description of the verbs «to do» and «to make», and shows its indispensability in English expressions. The author examines the general characteristics of expressions, in particular «do» and «make» collocations, and defines the ways of their forming and usage. The article analyzes the importance of «do» and «make» phrases in the English language.
Key words: collocations; phrases; expressions; «do» collocations; «make» collocations.
Зміст |
Problem setting
Nowadays the value of English in the world is so significant. The English knowledge is the key to realize everybody`s potential in life. The English language is an instrument of communication in the modern society. So, almost everyone learns English and the main idea of the process is to develop communicative skills. It usually includes grammar, vocabulary pronunciation. So, it takes lot of patience and time.
Analysis of recent achievements and publications
Some research has already been done on collocations by Van Roey, Fillmore. There are many scientists who have studied the expressions such as: Christopher Gledhill has examined «do» and «make» expressions and described them in the article «Collocations in Science Writing», paying attention to the importance of collocations in communication.
The objective of the article
So, to use the foreign language fluently we should pay a great attention to learning fixed expressions and collocations which sound naturally.
Nowadays we can speak about the goal not only to learn English, but also to speak the foreign language fluently. But this is impossible without learning collocations. So, in our opinion, the study of collocations is actual nowadays. The objective of the article is to give general characteristics of collocations; demonstrate some of their classifications; study «do» and «make» collocations and give some examples of the expressions to show their practical application.
The statement of the fundamental material
Collocations are very common in English, and learning them is important. A collocation is two or more words that often go together, like «do a crossword» or «make a mistake». The knowledge of everyday collocations helps learners to speak more natural and be more easily understood. You will have alternative and richer ways of expressing yourself. It is easier for our brains to remember and use language in chunks or blocks rather than as single words [4]. There is a great number of collocation classifications according to different characteristics. One of the classifications is according to the parts of the speech.
There are such types of collocation. 1) adverb + adjective (completely satisfied); 2) verb + noun (make a mistake); 3) adjective + noun (excruciating pain) 4) noun + noun (a surge of anger) [3].
The type of the collocation verb + noun, in our opinion, is the most widespread. Some verbs form groups of collocations around them. For example: to make a mistake, to do housework, to make a call, to do the dishes. It is usually hard to decide when to use «make» or «do» in English. Most learners have difficulties with comfusing «do» and «make» collocations. So, we try to pay our attention to find the main features of these two verbs just to difference them.
We use «make» when we create or construct something. For example: She made a cake; I've made us some coffee; Did you really make those trousers?
We use «do» for general activities. In this case, «do» is often used with «something», «nothing», «anything» or «everything»: What did you do at the weekend? I didn't do anything yesterday; She's fed up with doing everything herself. She needs some help; Do you do anything interesting during the holidays? Note: «What do you do? » «means what's your job?» There are many, fixed expressions with «do» and «make». Unfortunately, they don't really follow any useful rules, so we have to learn them. These two words can be confusing, but we are going to find the difference. We use «do» for actions, obligations, and repetitive tasks. «Do» generally refers to the action itself, and make usually refers to the result. For example, if you «make breakfast», the result is an omelet! If you «make a suggestion,» you have created recommendations. Here is the list of «do» and «make» collocations:
• do the housework. After I got home from the office, I was too tired to do the housework.
• do the laundry. I really need to do the laundry – I don’t have any clean clothes left!
• do the dishes. I’ll make dinner if you do the dishes afterwards. (you can also say «wash the dishes»)
• do the shopping. I went to the bank, did some shopping, and mailed a package at the post office.
• do work. I can’t go out this weekend – I have to do some work on an extra project.[3]
• do homework. You can’t watch any TV until you’ve done your homework.
• do business. We do business with clients in fifteen countries.
• do a good/great/terrible job. She did a good job organizing the party. (in this expression, «job» doesn’t necessarily refer to work. It simply means the person did something well)
• do a report. I’m doing a report on the history of American foreign policy. (you can also say «writing a report»)
• do a course. We’re doing a course at the local university.(you can also say «taking a course»)
• do exercise. I do at least half an hour of exercise every day.
• do your hair (= style your hair). I’ll be ready to go in 15 minutes – I just need to do my hair.[4]
• do your nails (= paint your nails). Can you open this envelope for me? I just did my nails and they’re still wet.
• do anything / something / everything / nothing. Are you doing anything special for your birthday? You can’t do everything by yourself – let me help you.
• do well. I think I did pretty well in the interview.
• do badly. Everyone did badly on the test – the highest grade was 68.
• do good. The non-profit organization has done a lot of good in the community.
• do the right thing. When I found someone’s wallet on the sidewalk, I turned it in to the police because I wanted to do the right thing.
• do your best. Don’t worry about getting everything perfect – just do your best.
We use make» for creating or producing something, and for actions you choose to do. Here is the list “make” collocations.
• make the bed = putting blankets, sheets, and pillows in the correct place so that the bed looks nice and not messy.
• make breakfast/lunch/dinner. I’m making dinner – it’ll be ready in about ten minutes.
• make a sandwich. Could you make me a turkey sandwich?
• make a salad. I made a salad for the family picnic.
• make a cup of tea. Would you like me to make you a cup of tea?[4]
• make a reservation. I’ve made a reservation for 7:30 at our favorite restaurant.
• make money. I enjoy my job, but I don’t make very much money.
• make a profit. The new company made a profit within its first year.
• make a fortune. He made a fortune after his book hit #1 on the bestseller list.
I made $250 selling my old CDs on the internet.
• make friends. It’s hard to make friends when you move to a big city.
• make love (= have sex). The newlyweds made love on the beach during their honeymoon.
• make a pass at (= flirt with someone). My best friend’s brother made a pass at me – he asked if I was single and tried to get my phone number.
• make fun of someone (= tease / mock someone). The other kids made fun of Jimmy when he got glasses, calling him «four eyes».
• make up (= resolve a problem in a relationship). Karen and Jennifer made up after the big fight they had last week.
• make a phone call. Please excuse me – I need to make a phone call.
• make a joke. He made a joke, but it wasn’t very funny and no one laughed.
• make a point. Dana made some good points during the meeting; I think we should consider her ideas.
• make a bet. I made a bet with Peter to see who could do more push-ups.
• make a complaint. We made a complaint with our internet provider about their terrible service, but we still haven’t heard back from them.
• make a confession. I need to make a confession: I was the one who ate the last piece of cake.
• make a speech. The company president made a speech about ethics in the workplace.[4]
• make a suggestion. Can I make a suggestion? I think you should cut your hair shorter – it’d look great on you!
• make a prediction. It’s difficult to make any predictions about the future of the economy.
• make an excuse. When I asked him if he’d finished the work, he started making excuses about how he was too busy.
• make a promise. I made a promise to help her whenever she needs it. (you can also say, «I promised to help her whenever she needs it.»)
• make a fuss (= demonstrate annoyance). Stop making a fuss – he’s only late a couple minutes. I’m sure he’ll be here soon.
• make an observation. I’d like to make an observation about our business plan – it’s not set in stone, so we can be flexible.
• make a comment. The teacher made a few critical comments on my essay. Don’t say «make a question.» The correct phrase is «ask a question.»
• make plans. We’re making plans to travel to Australia next year.
• make a decision/choice. I’ve made my decision – I’m going to go to New York University, not Boston University.
• make a mistake. You made a few mistakes in your calculations – the correct total is $5430, not $4530.
• make progress. My students are making good progress. Their spoken English is improving a lot.
• make an attempt / effort (= try). I’m making an effort to stop smoking this year.
• make up your mind (= decide). Should I buy a desktop or a laptop computer? I can’t make up my mind [4].
• make a discovery. Scientists have made an important discovery in the area of genetics.
• make a list. I’m making a list of everything we need for the wedding: invitations, decorations, a cake, a band, the dress…
• make sure (= confirm). Can you make sure we have enough copies of the report for everybody at the meeting?
• make a difference. Getting eight hours of sleep makes a big difference in my day. I have more energy!
• make an exception. Normally the teacher doesn’t accept late homework, but she made an exception for me because my backpack was stolen with my homework inside it.
And now we can give you some advice how not to confuse these collocations.
• Be aware of collocations, and try to recognize them when you see or hear them.
• Treat collocations as single blocks of language. Think of them as individual blocks or chunks, and learn «do» and «make» , not strongly + support.
• When you learn a new word, write down other words that collocate with it. Read as much as possible. Reading is an excellent way to learn vocabulary and collocations in context and naturally.
• Revise what you learn regularly. Practise using new collocations in context as soon as possible after learning them.
• Learn collocations in groups that work for you. You could learn them by topic (time, number, weather, money, family) or by a particular word (take action, take a chance, take an exam).
You can find information on collocations in any good learner's dictionary. And you can also find specialized dictionaries of collocations. [1]
Conclusion and the prospects of the above research
During our research we studied that the most common groups of collocations are «do» and «make» collocations. That’s why it is necessary to learn and know them. Thus, we gave general characteristics of collocations, in particular «do» and «make» gave some examples of the expressions and tips how to do it easier.
References
- Christopher G. Collocations in Science Writing / G. Christopher–Tübingen: Gunter Narr, 2000. –p. 7–20.
- Gairns R. Working with words: a guide to teaching and learning vocabulary / R. Gairns, S. Redman. – Cambridge University Press. – 1986.
- Kortni R. English Phrasal Verbs / R. Kortni. – Moscow, 2000. – 767 p. – (2nd ed).
- Longman Phrasal Verbs Dictionary. – Pearson Education Limited, 2000. – 622p.