Reference · module 33
Words that go together
Everything this module explains, on one page.
make or do
Choose between the two verbs that mean almost nothing.
- make tends towards creating something: make a cake, make a decision, make a mistake, make progress. Something exists afterwards that did not before.
- do tends towards activity: do your homework, do the washing, do business, do research. Nothing new is made; work is performed.
- The tendency is a hint, not a rule. do a favour and make an effort both break it, and each pair simply has to be learned.
The mistake you are about to make
do a mistake
make a mistake
One verb covers both in most languages, so do takes the whole job. English splits them: you make a mistake and you do your homework.
heavy rain, strong coffee
Pick the adjective a native speaker would pick.
- heavy rain, strong coffee, high price, fast food. Each pair is fixed, and swapping in a synonym makes the phrase sound foreign at once.
- big rain and powerful coffee are both understandable and neither is English. The words are correct; the combination is not.
- This is why vocabulary is better learned in pairs than alone. A word on its own is half of what you need to use it.
The mistake you are about to make
strong rain
heavy rain
The adjective is translated on its own and lands in the wrong pair. Rain is heavy and coffee is strong; swapping them is understood and foreign.
depend on, interested in
Use the preposition each word demands.
- depend on, listen to, apologise for, belong to, look forward to. The preposition is part of the word and is not translatable separately.
- Adjectives have them too: interested in, good at, afraid of, married to, similar to. Each pair has to be learned as one item.
- And nouns: a reason for, a solution to, an increase in, a chance of. The noun often takes a different preposition from its verb.
The mistake you are about to make
I'm listening the radio.
I'm listening to the radio.
Some verbs take their object directly in your language and need a preposition in English. Listen takes to, wait takes for, depend takes on.
Two words for one thing
Choose the word that fits the situation.
- English has two vocabularies: a short one from Germanic roots and a long one from Latin. buy and purchase, help and assist, start and commence.
- The short word is spoken and warm; the long one is written and formal. Neither is better, and using the wrong one is what sounds odd.
- Mixing them deliberately is a skill. A formal letter with one warm sentence in it reads better than a formal letter without one.
The mistake you are about to make
Hi Anna, I am writing to request that you commence the work.
Hi Anna, could you make a start on this?
The longer Latin word feels more polite, so it turns up in a friendly note. Mixing registers is a skill; doing it by accident just reads as stiff.