{"id":13806,"date":"2020-07-29T14:49:35","date_gmt":"2020-07-29T12:49:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/?p=13806"},"modified":"2020-09-08T15:15:52","modified_gmt":"2020-09-08T13:15:52","slug":"delexical-verbs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2020\/07\/delexical-verbs\/","title":{"rendered":"Delexical Verbs in the Spotlight"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What are delexical verbs?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Delexical verbs<\/strong> are action words that have no meaning in their own right. We find the meaning of the action more on the&nbsp;noun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to form?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Delexical verbs are usually followed by <a href=\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2017\/03\/adjectives-and-adverbs\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"undefined (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>adjectives<\/strong><\/a> and then nouns. Look at this pattern:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-accent-background-color has-background\"><strong>delexical verb + adjective\/s + noun<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>She <strong>takes<\/strong> a<strong> <\/strong><em>hot<\/em>&nbsp;<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">shower<\/span> before going to bed.<br>They <strong>had<\/strong> some <em>hard<\/em>&nbsp;<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">drinks<\/span> at the party.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The most common verbs used in this manner are&nbsp;<strong>have<\/strong>,&nbsp;<strong>take, make, give, go, <\/strong>and<strong> do<\/strong>. But perhaps the most frequently used are <strong>have<\/strong> and <strong>take<\/strong>. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Uses<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This next part lists all the delexical verbs and the nouns they are usually used with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Verb Have<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Use the delexical verb <strong>have<\/strong> with f<em>ood and drink, talking, washing, resting,<\/em> and <em>disagreeing<\/em>.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>They&nbsp;<strong>had a nice, hot cup of tea&nbsp;<\/strong>before bed.<\/p><p>The team <strong>had a detailed discussion<\/strong> about their action plans.<\/p><p>She is used to&nbsp;<strong>having a long bath<\/strong> after a long work&#8217;s day.<\/p><p>Everyone in Spain generally&nbsp;<strong>has a long vacation<\/strong>&nbsp;in summer.<\/p><p>The two countries <strong>had land disputes<\/strong> over some territories in the 1980s.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Additionally, also use&nbsp;<strong>have<\/strong>&nbsp;with&nbsp;verbs that function as nouns.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>The clients want to&nbsp;<strong>have a look<\/strong>&nbsp;at the property before signing the lease contract.<br>The child&nbsp;<strong>had a bite<\/strong>&nbsp;of the apple.<br>Do you want to&nbsp;<strong>have a drink<\/strong> first?<br>The team&nbsp;<strong>had a listen<\/strong>&nbsp;to the keynote speaker at the conference.<br>Are you going to&nbsp;<strong>have a swim<\/strong> on the lake?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Verb Take<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The main use of delexical verb <strong>take<\/strong> is with <em>washing<\/em> and <em>resting<\/em>.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>She always <strong>takes a long bath<\/strong> after a long work&#8217;s day.<br>He looks tired. He needs to&nbsp;<strong>take some time off<\/strong>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Moreover, you also use&nbsp;<strong>take<\/strong>&nbsp;with&nbsp;the words: <em>care, care of, a turn, turns, trouble, the trouble, a chance, a risk, a decision,<\/em> and <em>a photograph<\/em>. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>It is important that you <strong>take care of<\/strong> yourself.<\/p><p>You better <strong>take a chance<\/strong> on him.<\/p><p>They <strong>took turns<\/strong> in using the meeting room.<\/p><p>The view is amazing! Make sure to <strong>take beautiful photographs<\/strong>.<\/p><p>She is not one to <strong>take risks<\/strong>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>In addition, you can use&nbsp;<strong>take<\/strong>&nbsp;with&nbsp;verbs that function as nouns.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>They <strong>took a good look&nbsp;<\/strong>at the design plan.<br>She <strong>takes long walks <\/strong>to clear her mind.<br>Have you <strong>taken your quick swim<\/strong>?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Verb Give<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Generally, you use the delexical verb <strong>give<\/strong> with <em>noises, facial expressions, hitting, affectionate actions, <\/em>and <em>talking<\/em>.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>She <strong>gives a loud scream<\/strong> every time she rides a rollercoaster.<\/p><p>He <strong>gave<\/strong> his wife <strong>a loving glance<\/strong>.<\/p><p>His parents always <strong>give<\/strong> him his much <strong>needed push<\/strong>.<\/p><p>They&nbsp;didn&#8217;t separate without <strong>giving<\/strong>&nbsp;each other&nbsp;<strong>a goodbye kiss<\/strong>.<\/p><p>WHO needs to <strong>give<\/strong> <strong>scientific<\/strong> <strong>information<\/strong> about the pandemic.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Verb Make<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The use of the delexical verb <strong>make<\/strong> is usually with <em>talking, sounds, <\/em>and <em>plans<\/em>.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>I&#8217;m quite sure it <strong>made a sound<\/strong>.<\/p><p>Do not <strong>make promises<\/strong> you can&#8217;t keep.<\/p><p><strong>Making an appointment<\/strong> is a professional thing to do.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Verb Go<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>More commonly, you use <strong>go<\/strong> as a delexical verb.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>Should we <strong>go for a walk<\/strong>?<br>My sister and I&nbsp;<strong>went shopping<\/strong> last weekend.<br>Let&#8217;s <strong>go<\/strong> <strong>dancing<\/strong>&nbsp;now. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>You also use&nbsp;<strong>go<\/strong> for&nbsp;common activities. Combine it with an -ing verb.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>Mom and Dad&nbsp;<strong>go walking<\/strong>&nbsp;every morning.<br>They<strong>&nbsp;go<\/strong> <strong>grocery<\/strong> <strong>shopping<\/strong>&nbsp;every weekend.<br>She is not here now.<strong> <\/strong>She has<strong> gone swimming<\/strong>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Use <strong>go for a<\/strong>&nbsp;with&nbsp;words that indicate moving. These words include <em>a jog, a ride, a swim, a run, a stroll,<\/em> and <em>a walk<\/em>. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>How about we <strong>go for a short ride<\/strong> around town?<\/p><p>Instead of staying at their hotel, they chose to <strong>go for a leisurely stroll<\/strong> around the area.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Verb Do<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>You use&nbsp;<strong>do<\/strong>&nbsp;with&nbsp;-ing&nbsp;nouns to do with house works.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>It&#8217;s my grandmother&#8217;s hobby to&nbsp;<strong>do the gardening<\/strong>.<br>We did<strong> the painting<\/strong>&nbsp;and they&nbsp;<strong>did the redecorating<\/strong> of the baby room.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>In addition,<strong> <\/strong>you also use <strong>do<\/strong> with nouns to do with work.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>The team have to&nbsp;<strong>do a few jobs<\/strong>&nbsp;with the software before the launch.<br>Our colleagues said they couldn&#8217;t come out yesterday. They had so much&nbsp;<strong>work to do<\/strong>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>When it is clear&nbsp;what the action in the sentence is, you use&nbsp;<strong>do<\/strong>.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>She has to&nbsp;<strong>do her nails<\/strong>&nbsp;before the party.&nbsp;(= She&#8217;ll have to paint her nails.)<br>I have&nbsp;<strong>done my hair<\/strong>? (= I have styled my hair.)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The question <em>&#8220;Did he&nbsp;<strong>do the room<\/strong>?&#8221;<\/em> might have the following meaning depending on the context.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>Did he\u00a0<strong>clean &#8230;<\/strong>? <strong>decorate&#8230;?<\/strong> <strong>paint<\/strong>&#8230;<strong>?<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>See also: Commonly Confused Verbs: <a aria-label=\"undefined (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2020\/02\/make-or-do-advanced\/\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2020\/02\/make-or-do-advanced\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Make or Do (Advanced)<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For additional information on this topic, check out this <a aria-label=\"undefined (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/learnenglish.britishcouncil.org\/english-grammar-reference\/delexical-verbs-have-take-make-give-go-and-do\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>British<\/strong><\/a><a aria-label=\"undefined (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/learnenglish.britishcouncil.org\/category\/grammar\/infinitive-or-ing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong> Council lesson<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-subtle-background-background-color has-background\">Other English grammar lessons can be found&nbsp;<strong><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/grammar-index\/\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What are delexical verbs? Delexical verbs are action words that have no meaning in their own right. We find the meaning of the action more on the&nbsp;noun. How to form? Delexical verbs are usually followed by adjectives and then nouns. Look at this pattern: delexical verb + adjective\/s + noun She takes a hot&nbsp;shower before [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[309],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13806","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-grammar"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v16.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Delexical Verbs in the Spotlight | phone english blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This English grammar lesson is putting a spotlight on delexical verbs. 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