make

Primary: verbCan function as: verb, noun

Zero derivation between verb and noun forms
high frequency – top 100 words in EnglishGeneralBusinessAcademic

πŸ”Š Pronunciation

/meΙͺk/
Syllables: make
Stress: single syllable
Consistent pronunciation across varieties

πŸ‘¨β€πŸ‘©β€πŸ‘§β€πŸ‘¦ Word Family

Word Class Forms
Verbs make, makes, making, made
Nouns make, maker, making
Adjectives made-up, makeshift
Productive in compounds and phrasal verbs

πŸ“ Noun Forms

Singular: make
Plural: makes
Possessive: make's

Compound Forms

make-up, make-believe, make-do

Derived Forms

With suffixes: maker (-er), making (-ing)

🎯 Verb Forms

Infinitive: to make
Base form: make
3rd person singular: makes
Past simple: made
Past participle: made
Present participle: making
Gerund: making
Note: Irregular past/past participle form 'made'

πŸ“– Meanings & Definitions

Noun Meanings

1

brand or type of manufactured product
Countability: countable
“What make of car do you drive?”
“Japanese makes are reliable”
Common collocations: car make, different make, reliable make
Synonyms: brand, type, model

neutralmanufacturing, commerce

Verb Meanings

1

create or produce something
“She makes her own clothes”
“They make furniture”
Synonyms: create, produce, construct

neutral

2

cause something to happen or someone to do something
“The joke made everyone laugh”
“What makes you think that?”
Synonyms: cause, force, compel

neutral

3

earn or gain (money or profit)
“He makes a lot of money”
“The company made a huge profit”
Synonyms: earn, gain, acquire

business

πŸ”§ Verb Patterns

make + object
“She makes cakes”
Note: Basic transitive pattern
make + object + infinitive without to
“The noise made me jump”
Note: Causative meaning
make + object + adjective
“The news made her happy”
Note: Resultative meaning

Transitivity

Type: transitive
Passive possible: Yes
Passive examples:
“The cake was made by Mary”
“Mistakes were made”

🀝 Collocations

Verb + Noun

make a decisionmake moneymake a mistakemake an effortmake sense

⚠️ Common Errors

❌ make a photoβ†’βœ“ take a photo
Confusion with L1 expressions
Common for: Many European languages

Medium impact

❌ make someone to do somethingβ†’βœ“ make someone do something
Adding unnecessary 'to' after make

🌍 Etymology

Origin: Old English 'macian'
Original meaning: “to construct, prepare, cause”
Development: Stable core meaning since Old English
Related words in other languages: German 'machen', Dutch 'maken'

πŸ“Š Register & Frequency

Frequency: top 100 words
Spoken: common
Written: common
Academic: common
Business: common
Formality: neutral