Empty verbs
What is an empty verb?
Some verbs in English do not mean anything very much. They
take their meaning from the word which follows the verb, usually a
noun or a noun phrase.
For example, in:
I made a bookcase for my study
it is clear that the verb make carries the meaning of
produce
or manufacture and so it has a real meaning.
However, in:
I made a mistake
there is no sense of manufacturing something at all and in many
languages, the verb will be do, not make.
And, for example, we can say:
I gave my promise
and we can see that the verb give has the idea of presenting something
but in:
I made a promise
there is no such sense and the verb only has a meaning because of
the noun which is the object and the same applies, for example, to:
We made friends on holiday.
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So, what's the problem?
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The problem is that if the verb carries no or very little meaning, how do we
decide which one to use?
For example, do we say:
I did a discovery
or
I made a discovery?
There is no way to tell which verb is correct (it's the second
one) because the meaning comes from the noun, not the verb.
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Remembering
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To remember the correct way to say something in English you must
learn the whole expression, not the verb and the noun separately.
So do not try to remember, for example, that the verb do
goes with the noun damage but the verb make goes
with the noun repairs, we have to remember
do damage
and
make repairs
as single expressions.
That way we can say, for example:
Did the storm do a lot of damage?
Yes, but we have made all the repairs and the boat is fine
now
correctly.
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Some common empty verbs
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Here are some common empty verbs with the noun phrases they take
the meaning from.
- break
- This verb often means something like interrupt.
We can say:
She broke her promise to marry him
I broke my journey in London
It broke my heart to see him so unhappy
- catch
- This verb often means get.
We can say:
I caught a cold at school
The house caught fire
I caught sight of her outside the house
I didn't catch that – can you say it again?
- do
- This verb often goes with nouns which are about work or jobs
but not always.
We can say:
She did her best
We did very little business in the shop
I did not do the damage
She did her job very well
We did history at my school
I did the food for the party
It did me no harm
We did our homework on the train
I did him a favour
You did wrong to say that to her
Can you do the shopping?
I'll do the washing up, if you like
- earn
- This verb often means get something good.
We can say:
She earns my thanks
He earns a good living
They earned respect for their honesty
- give
- This verb often has the sense of something passed from one
person to another.
We can say:
She gave no answer
You gave me your promise
She gave notice and left her job the following month
I'll give it some thought
It gave rise to a lot of problems
- go
- This verb often has the sense of changing state. It is often
followed by an adjective or adverb, not a noun phrase.
The food went bad
The machine went wrong
The dog went mad
The scissors went missing
The sun went in
The lights went off / on
We went hungry on our walk
- hold
- This verb often means arrange.
We can say:
We must hold a new election
They held a conversation about it
The university is holding a conference for the doctors
They are holding a festival for the saint's day
- keep
- This verb often means retain.
We can say:
She didn't keep her promise
Are you keeping count of the money we are spending?
Can you keep a secret?
He always keeps his word
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- lose
- This verb keeps its usual meaning in the clause.
We can say:
I have lost confidence in his ability
Don't lose heart. It will all be OK in the end
I have lost touch with my old school friends
- make
- This verb often means something like produce or
manufacture but not always.
We can say:
I must make my apologies and leave now
Can I make an appointment for tomorrow?
We will make all the arrangements for the work
I will make certain she is there
You have to make a choice now
I want to make a complaint
She made a confession to her mother
Have you made a decision?
I have made a new discovery
I will make enquiries for you
They made their escape through the tunnel under the wall
She made an excuse but nobody believed her
I have made some good friends in my job
Don't make fun of me. I'm serious
They made a fuss about the food
Can you make a guess?
They made a long journey into the forest
I have made a terrible mistake
I'll make another offer that you must accept
They made peace at last after all the fighting
I make some repairs to the house
Make a little room for me at your table, please
She made a funny speech
I made my way to the harbour
- pay
- This verb often has the meaning of give.
We can say:
Please pay close attention
He paid me a very nice compliment
I will just pay my respects to your mother and then we can go
- put
- We can say:
I must put a stop to the noise
They will put an end to the business soon
Can I put a question to you?
- run
- We can say:
She ran a terrible risk
He ran the business very badly
- set
- This verb often has the meaning of establish.
We can say:
They set a good example of hard work
The children set fire to the old building
The ship set sail on the 14th October
- take
- This verb often has the meaning of acquire.
We can say:
Please take charge of the luggage and
make sure it is safe
She took hold of the wrong idea about the boss
John takes an interest in history
Take no notice. She's joking
Please don't take offence
They took great pains to get the figures right
We took pity on him and bought him dinner
Where does the festival take place?
They moved to Spain and took root there
We will take steps to see it doesn't happen again
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If you would like that list as a PDF document, click
here.
It may help you to translate the sentences into your first
language to see how the use of verbs is different.
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How can I remember all those?
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It's not easy but you have already remembered hundreds of words
in English and these are no different, just longer.
Do not try to learn the expressions as verb + noun, learn them as
single meanings and it will be easier for you to remember them and,
more importantly, use them correctly.
Print off the list and start with the verbs that you like,
learning just a few each day.
It won't be long before you have learned them all.
When you think you have learned most of them,
try these tests.
The most commonly confused verbs are make and do
because many languages only have one verb for these two.
You can try a test only on make and do
here.
