Have, Take, Make and Give

We use verbs like have, take, make and give with nouns like a shower, a drink, a mistake, advice:
I took a shower.
I had a drink.
I made a mistake.
He gave me some advice.

With verbs like this the important part of the meaning is taken out of the verb and put into the noun. We usually put adjectives in front of the nouns:
I took a hot shower.
I had a cool drink.
I made a silly mistake.
He gave me some good advice.

Have

We use have with:
Food and drink: a meal, lunch, dinner etc.
Communicating: a chat, a conversation etc.
Washing: a bath, a shower...
Breaks: a holiday, a rest, a break...
Arguments: an argument, a fight, a disagreement...
We can also use have with nouns made from verbs:
Have a drink, swim, bite...

Take

We use take with:
Washing: a bath, a shower...
Breaks: a holiday, a rest, a break...
We also use take with these expressions:
Take care, take the trouble, take care of, take a photograph.
And with some verbs formed from nouns:
Take a walk, take a look.

Give

We use give with:
Facial expressions: a smile, a laugh, a look...
Making noises: a shout, a cry, a scream...
Hitting: a kick, a punch, a slap...
Actions like: a hug, a kiss...
Communicating: some advice, an answer, a speech, a talk, a report...

Make

We use make with:
Sounds and speaking: a comment, a noise, a promise, a suggestion...
Plans: a choice, a decision, plans, a date, an appointment...

The important thing when practising using these verbs is to make a note of the verb used with the nouns. In other words remember the combination of verb and the noun it is used with.

Lesson by Tristan, teacher at EC Malta English school

Choose the correct verb for these sentences:

• 1 - He ___ me some excellent advice.
  
  made
  had
  gave
  took
  
  
• 2 - Why don't you ___ a nice cool long drink?
  
  take
  give
  make
  have
  
  
• 3 - After a whole day at work I got home and ___ a long hot bath.
  
  made
  had
  gave
  
  
• 4 - He realised that he had ___ a serious mistake.
  
  taken
  made
  given
  had
  
  
• 5 - I ___ a nice relaxing holiday in Greece.
  
  took
  had
  made
  gave
  
  
• 6 - When we were on holiday in London we ___ loads of photographs.
  
  gave
  had
  took
  made
  
  
• 7 - You can see the mountains from this window. Come and ___ a look.
  
  take
  make
  give
  
  
• 8 - Jane is very organised. She’s the one who ___ plans for our group.
  
  gives
  has
  makes
  takes
  
  
• 9 - They ___ a serious fight because of the new marketing proposals.
  
  had
  took
  made
  gave
  
  
• 10 - Thank you for ___ the trouble to come over to discuss the situation.
  
  taking
  making
  having
  giving
  
  
• 11 - We ___ dinner at that fabulous Italian restaurant.
  
  made
  gave
  took
  had
  
  
• 12 - I can't wait for it to be warm enough to ___ a swim in the lake.
  
  give
  make
  take
  have
  
  
• 13 - |The CEO ___ a motivating speech at the annual conference.
  
  gave
  took
  made
  had
  
  
• 14 - She ___ him such a seductive smile that he was speechless for a while.
  
  took
  gave
  had
  made