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Module code: 891
Understanding: Make
Frequency: extremely high | Importance: essential

'Make' is one of English's most versatile verbs. Master the basic patterns first: make + object (A1), make + object + adjective (A2), and make + object + bare infinitive (A2). Watch for common errors: use bare infinitive in active voice but to-infinitive in passive, distinguish 'make' from 'do', and remember 'made of' versus 'made from'.

Core Meanings & Usage Patterns

This verb has 6 main meanings. Each card shows the meaning, grammatical pattern, and usage rules.

Meaning 1

Create or produce something

Essential

Use 'make' when you create or produce something physical or abstract. Common with food (make dinner, make a cake), objects (make furniture), and errors (make a mistake, make a mess).

Pattern: make + direct object (noun/pronoun)
Subject: person, thing, organization
Object: thing, abstract
Complement: –
Example: “She made a beautiful dress for the party.”
💡 Remember: make breakfast/dinner/cake, NOT do breakfast.
⚠ī¸ Most basic pattern, used for creation and fixed expressions.
Meaning 2

Cause or force action

Essential

'Make' causes someone or something to be in a state or do an action. Use with adjectives (make someone happy) or bare infinitives (make him leave). This shows cause and effect.

Pattern: make + object + adjective
Subject: thing, abstract, it, person
Object: person, thing
Complement: adj
Example: “The sad movie made her cry.”
💡 Active: make him go. Passive: he was made to go.
⚠ī¸ Adjective describes resulting state of object.
Meaning 3

Earn or achieve amount

Essential

Use 'make' for earning money or reaching totals. Common collocations: make money, make a profit, make a living, make a fortune. This meaning focuses on financial achievement or numerical amounts.

Pattern: make + object + bare infinitive
Subject: person, thing, abstract
Object: person
Complement: bare_infinitive
Example: “He makes $60,000 a year as a teacher.”
💡 Make money (earn), NOT do money.
⚠ī¸ Causative structure; passive uses to-infinitive instead.
Meaning 4

Perform action or decision

Important

'Make' appears in many fixed expressions for actions and decisions: make a decision, make a choice, make an effort, make a phone call, make sure. Learn these as chunks.

Pattern: make + object + noun
Subject: person, organization
Object: person, thing
Complement: noun
Example: “I need to make an important decision today.”
💡 Make a decision/effort/call, but DO homework/exercise.
⚠ī¸ Noun describes new role or status of object.
Meaning 5

Reach destination or time

Useful

Use 'make it' to mean successfully arrive or achieve something, often with difficulty. Common with destinations (make it to the airport) or deadlines (make it by Friday). Always includes 'it'.

Pattern: make + for + noun/pronoun
Subject: person
Object: –
Complement: prep_phrase
Example: “We barely made it to the train on time.”
💡 Always: make IT to somewhere, not just make to.
⚠ī¸ Means to move towards; slightly formal or literary.
Meaning 6

Become or be suitable

Important

'Make' shows suitability for a role or purpose. Use with evaluative phrases: make a good teacher, make a nice gift, make a lovely couple. This expresses potential or appropriateness.

Pattern: make + it + (to place/time)
Subject: person
Object: it
Complement: prep_phrase, adverb
Example: “She'd make an excellent manager with her skills.”
💡 Shows potential: what someone/something would BE good as.
⚠ī¸ Idiomatic; 'it' is fixed and refers to arrival/success.

Formal vs Informal Usage

Learn when to use “Make” and when to choose more formal alternatives.

Informal/Conversational
“They make cars in that factory.”
→
Formal/Academic
“They manufacture automobiles in that facility.”
📝 Formal writing prefers produce/manufacture/create over make.
Informal/Conversational
“This makes it really hard to understand.”
→
Formal/Academic
“This renders it difficult to comprehend.”
📝 Academic style uses render/cause rather than make.

All Forms of “Make”

Base Form make
3rd Person makes
Past Simple made
Past Participle made
Present Participle making
ℹī¸ Note: Irregular past forms

Common Collocations

These are the most natural word combinations with “Make” – learn them as fixed phrases.

verb + noun
  • make a mistake
  • make a decision
  • make a choice
extremely high
Used in: Pattern 1, Pattern 4
verb + noun
  • make money
  • make a profit
  • make a living
extremely high
Used in: Pattern 1, Pattern 3
verb + noun
  • make sense
  • make a difference
  • make progress
very high
Used in: Pattern 1
verb + noun
  • make an effort
  • make an attempt
  • make a plan
very high
Used in: Pattern 1, Pattern 4
verb + noun
  • make a phone call
  • make an appointment
  • make arrangements
very high
Used in: Pattern 1
v+obj+adj
  • make someone happy
  • make it clear
  • make life easier
extremely high
Used in: Pattern 2
v+obj+inf
  • make someone laugh
  • make someone cry
  • make someone wait
very high
Used in: Pattern 3
v+sure
  • make sure
  • make certain
  • make absolutely sure
extremely high
Used in: Pattern 11
v+it
  • make it
  • make it on time
  • make it to the top
very high
Used in: Pattern 6
be_made+prep
  • made of wood
  • made from plastic
  • made in China
very high
Used in: Pattern 9
verb + noun
  • make a suggestion
  • make a recommendation
  • make a complaint
high
Used in: Pattern 1
verb + noun
  • make breakfast
  • make dinner
  • make a cake
extremely high
Used in: Pattern 1
verb + noun
  • make friends
  • make enemies
  • make contact
very high
Used in: Pattern 1
verb + noun
  • make time
  • make room
  • make space
high
Used in: Pattern 1
verb + noun
  • make a mess
  • make a noise
  • make a sound
very high
Used in: Pattern 1

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Learn from these typical errors and avoid them in your own usage.

infinitive form confusionMeaning 2Pattern 3Pattern 10
❌ She made him to leave.
✓ She made him leave.

Active causative make uses bare infinitive; only passive uses to-infinitive.

verb choice with activitiesMeaning 1Pattern 1
❌ I made my homework.
✓ I did my homework.

Use 'do' not 'make' for tasks, homework, and exercises.

preposition confusionMeaning 1Pattern 9
❌ The table is made from wood.
✓ The table is made of wood.

Use 'of' when material is visible; 'from' when transformed or not visible.

verb choice with nounsMeaning 4Pattern 1
❌ I made a photo.
✓ I took a photo.

Use 'take' not 'make' with photos, pictures, and tests.

word order with adjectivesMeaning 2Pattern 2
❌ That made happy me.
✓ That made me happy.

Object pronoun comes before adjective complement in this pattern.

literal translation interferenceMeaning 4Pattern 1
❌ I made a walk in the park.
✓ I went for a walk in the park.

English uses 'go for' or 'take' with walk, not 'make'.

verb choice with moneyMeaning 3Pattern 1
❌ He does a lot of money.
✓ He makes a lot of money.

Use 'make' not 'do' when talking about earning money.

missing dummy itMeaning 5Pattern 6
❌ We made to the airport.
✓ We made it to the airport.

This idiomatic expression requires dummy 'it' before the destination.

Phrasal Verbs with “Make”

This verb forms 15-20 common phrasal verbs. Here are some of the most essential ones:

Full coverage in dedicated phrasal-verb module

Idiomatic Expressions

There are approximately 30+ common idioms using “Make”. Here are some you should know:

Full idioms in dedicated module

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