13 Surprising Uses of MAKE in English (Most Learners Don't Know These!)

[00:00:00]Making [music] English easy for everyone.

[00:00:02]>> Speak English with Jay and May.

[00:00:05]>> Hey English learners, welcome back to Speak English with Jay and May, your cozy little place to build your English confidence. I'm May.

[00:00:15]>> Hello May. And hello everyone. I'm Jay.

[00:00:19]How are you today, May?

[00:00:20]>> I'm doing amazing, Jay. Actually, this morning I made my bed, made breakfast, and then made a mistake. All before 8 am. [laughter] >> Wait, wait, wait. You used make three times just now, but they all meant something different.

[00:00:40]>> Exactly. And that's our topic today. 13 surprising uses of the word make. One tiny word, so many meanings.

[00:00:50]>> Honestly, I always thought make just meant build something, like make a chair. Oh Jay, we are going to open your eyes today. [laughter] Make is one of the most powerful words in English and most learners only know about 20% of it.

[00:01:08]>> Okay, now I'm really curious. But first, May, should we remind everyone about something?

[00:01:14]>> Yes. If this podcast is helping you sound more natural in English, please subscribe, hit the like button, turn on notifications, and share it with a friend who's learning English, too. It really helps us keep going. Every single day.

[00:01:30]>> Every day, people. We show up for you every day. Okay, May. Let's get into it.

[00:01:36]Use number one.

[00:01:38]>> All right. Use number one, make meaning to create or produce something. This is the most basic one. She made a cake. He made a video. You're producing something that didn't exist before.

[00:01:52]>> Okay, that one I knew. So that's the classic meaning, >> right? That's the foundation. But now use number two, make meaning to prepare food or drinks. I'll make dinner. Can you make some tea? Oh, so make dinner doesn't mean you're building dinner like with bricks.

[00:02:15]>> No bricks, Jay. No bricks. You're just cooking or preparing it. Make breakfast, make coffee, make a sandwich. It's all about preparing food.

[00:02:26]>> Got it. So create and prepare both use make. What's number three?

[00:02:32]>> Use number three. Make meaning to cause something to happen or cause a feeling.

[00:02:38]Like the movie made me cry. That joke made everyone laugh.

[00:02:44]>> Oh, so make can describe something that causes an emotion.

[00:02:49]>> Yes. You're not building the emotion, you're causing it. The music made her feel happy. The cold weather made him tired. The subject causes a reaction in someone. Wait, here's something I want to ask. You said made him tired. Can make work with adjectives like that.

[00:03:09]>> Great question. Yes, make plus a person plus an adjective. The news made her nervous. The long meeting made everyone bored. Super useful pattern.

[00:03:22]>> Okay, I love that. What's number four?

[00:03:26]>> Use number four. Make meaning to force someone to do something. My mom made me eat vegetables. The teacher made us stay after class.

[00:03:37]>> So make can mean force, like no choice.

[00:03:42]>> Exactly. When you make someone do something, they don't have a choice. And notice after make in this pattern, you use the base verb made eat, not made to eat.

[00:03:55]>> Oh, no. To that's a common mistake, right? Very common. My boss made me work late. No. To learners often say made me to work, but that's incorrect. Drop the two.

[00:04:10]>> Important. Okay. Number five. I'm ready.

[00:04:14]>> Use number five. Make meaning to earn money. She makes $50 an hour. He makes a good salary.

[00:04:23]>> You mean like make money means earn it, not like print it yourself.

[00:04:29]>> [laughter] >> Please don't print it yourself. Yes, make money means to earn it. How much do you make is a very natural way to ask about someone's income, though it can be a little personal depending on the situation.

[00:04:44]>> So, it's not rude to ask.

[00:04:46]>> Um, it depends on your relationship.

[00:04:49]With close friends, it's fine. With strangers or co-workers, a bit sensitive, but the grammar is supernatural. I make around 2,000 a month.

[00:05:00]>> Okay. Number six.

[00:05:02]>> Use number six. Make meaning to reach or arrive somewhere. We made it to the airport just in time. Do you think we'll make the last train?

[00:05:13]>> Wait, so make it means to successfully arrive somewhere.

[00:05:18]>> Yes, we made it can mean we arrived or more broadly, we succeeded. If someone says, "I can't make it to the party," they mean they can't attend or they won't be able to come.

[00:05:31]>> Oh, so make it to the party, means attend the party. That's interesting, >> right? Can you make it? Sorry, I can't make it. You'll hear this all the time in daily conversations.

[00:05:46]>> This is where things get really interesting. May, what's number seven?

[00:05:51]>> Use number seven. Make in the phrase make a decision or make a choice. In English, we say you make a decision, not do a decision. Make a decision.

[00:06:05]>> You mean like I made a decision to wake up early. Is that right?

[00:06:10]>> Perfect. Make a decision. Make a choice.

[00:06:14]Make a plan. These are set phrases. You can't say do a decision in English. It just sounds wrong. Why do learners mix up make and do so much?

[00:06:25]>> To be honest, it's one of the trickiest parts of English. Generally, make is for things you create or produce, even if they're abstract, like a plan or a decision. Do is more for tasks and activities. Do homework, do the dishes.

[00:06:44]But make a plan, make a list.

[00:06:47]>> Oh, okay. So, decisions and plans make tasks and chores do. Got it?

[00:06:56]>> That's a great way to remember it.

[00:06:58]You'll still have to learn some by feel, but that rule helps a lot.

[00:07:03]>> Okay, number eight. Let's go.

[00:07:06]>> Use number eight. Make meaning to say or communicate something. Like, can I make a suggestion? She made a comment about my hair. He made a complaint to the manager.

[00:07:20]>> So, make a complaint, not do a complaint.

[00:07:23]>> Correct. Make a complaint, make a comment, make a speech, make an announcement. When you're producing words or ideas out loud, you use make.

[00:07:35]>> Wow. I definitely say do a complaint sometimes. Not anymore.

[00:07:41]>> Not anymore. And here's a funny one.

[00:07:44]Imagine your boss calling a meeting and saying, "I'd like to make an announcement. Doesn't that feel dramatic? Like something big is coming."

[00:07:55]Yeah. Like everyone gets nervous.

[00:07:58]>> Exactly. That's the power of make an announcement. Okay. Use number nine. And this one surprises people.

[00:08:07]>> Ooh. What is it?

[00:08:08]>> Make meaning to equal or add up to something. 2 + 2 makes 4. 12 months make a year.

[00:08:17]>> Wait, really? Makes four, not equals 4.

[00:08:22]>> Both are correct, but makes is very natural in spoken English. 5 and 5 makes 10. It's a casual everyday way to say something equals something else.

[00:08:35]>> That's so cool. I never thought about that. Okay, number 10.

[00:08:39]>> Use number 10. Make meaning to represent or be suitable for something. Like she'll make a great teacher. This old barn would make a beautiful home.

[00:08:51]>> You mean like predicting that someone will be good at something?

[00:08:55]>> Yes. He'll make a great dad. This movie would make a good book. You're saying something has the right qualities to become or represent something else.

[00:09:06]>> Oh, so it's like saying the potential is there.

[00:09:09]>> Exactly. And you can use it as a compliment. You'd make a great podcast host, Jay. [laughter] >> May, you're too kind. Okay. Okay. Number 11. What do you have?

[00:09:22]>> Use number 11. Make in the expression make sense. Does that make sense? It doesn't make sense to me.

[00:09:31]>> Oh, I use that one. Make sense means to be logical or understandable, right?

[00:09:37]>> Yes. And it's everywhere in conversation. Teachers say it, friends say it, bosses say it. Does this make sense? Is basically asking, "Do you understand? Is this logical?"

[00:09:50]>> And the opposite, "It doesn't make sense means something is confusing or illogical."

[00:09:56]>> Exactly. Like, why do we park in driveways and drive on parkways? It doesn't make sense. [laughter] >> That's a classic. Okay, May. What's number 12?

[00:10:09]>> Use number 12, make meaning to manage to see or experience something. Like, I finally made it to Paris. Or, did you make the concert last night?

[00:10:21]>> So, make it to Paris means you finally got there, like after a long time or effort, >> right? There's an emotional weight to it. I made it to Paris sounds more exciting than just I went to Paris. It implies effort, achievement, like you really got there.

[00:10:40]>> Oh, that's a great detail. So, make it has this feeling of overcoming something.

[00:10:47]>> Yes. Think about someone saying, "I made it through the year." That means it was hard, but they survived and succeeded.

[00:10:55]Make it carries that sense of triumph.

[00:10:59]>> Wow. Okay. I love that one. Last one.

[00:11:02]Number 13.

[00:11:03]>> Use number 13. And this one is really fun. Make used in idioms and fixed expressions like make up your mind, make do, make believe, make ends meet.

[00:11:16]>> Okay, slow down. Make up your mind. What does that mean? [laughter] >> Make up your mind means to decide. I can't make up my mind. Pizza or pasta?

[00:11:28]You're struggling to choose and someone tells you to decide already. Oh, so make up your mind equals make a decision.

[00:11:37]>> Essentially, yes. But make up your mind has a more frustrated or urgent energy, like someone's waiting for you to decide.

[00:11:47]>> Okay. What about make do? You mean like make something work?

[00:11:53]>> Exactly. Make do means to manage with what you have, even if it's not perfect.

[00:11:59]We didn't have butter, so we made do with olive oil. You work with limited resources. [laughter] >> That sounds like my cooking everyday.

[00:12:08]>> Same, honestly. And make believe, this means to pretend or imagine. The kids were playing makebelieve. They were pretending to be superheroes or whatever they imagined.

[00:12:21]>> Oh, that's sweet. And make ends meet. I think I've heard this before.

[00:12:26]Make ends meet means to have just enough money to pay for your basic needs. It's hard to make ends meet with the cost of living these days. Many people can relate to that one.

[00:12:38]>> Yeah, that one hits close to home for a lot of people.

[00:12:41]>> It really does. And that's why make is such a powerful word. It shows up in the most human moments. Earning money, reaching your dreams, deciding your future, pretending as a child. make is in all of it.

[00:12:57]>> Wow. Okay. I want to do a quick recap because my brain is a little full right now. [laughter] >> Let's do it. Make can mean create something, prepare food, cause a feeling, force someone, earn money, arrive somewhere, decide, communicate, equal something, represent potential, make sense, achieve something, and show up in powerful idioms.

[00:13:25]>> 13 uses. And I thought make just meant build a chair.

[00:13:30]>> No more chairs, Jay. Make is a universe.

[00:13:34]Okay. I want to try a few quick examples before we close. Can I >> go for it?

[00:13:40]>> Okay. My alarm made me wake up at 5:00 a.m. Is that right?

[00:13:46]>> Almost. You'd say, "My alarm made me wake up at 5:00 a.m. Perfect structure."

[00:13:53]But actually, more naturally, my alarm made me get up at 5:00 a.m. Both work, but get up sounds more natural there.

[00:14:02]>> Got it. Okay. How about I can't make it to the meeting tomorrow?

[00:14:08]>> Perfect. Very natural. That means you can't contend.

[00:14:12]>> And does this make sense to you?

[00:14:15]>> Textbook. Perfect. You sound like a native speaker right now, Jay.

[00:14:20][laughter] >> I'm learning from the best.

[00:14:22]>> Okay, here's something I want you, our listeners, to think about for a second.

[00:14:28]Imagine you're at work. Your boss walks in and says, "I'd like to make an announcement." Everyone gets quiet. Then he says, "I've decided to make some changes." Then someone makes a complaint. Then someone else can't make up their mind about whether to stay or leave. [laughter] >> That whole scene, that's like five uses of make in one office moment.

[00:14:57]>> That's real life. And now our listeners can recognize every single one of those uses. That's real progress.

[00:15:05]>> You know what I love most about today's episode? You really don't need fancy words to speak powerful English. Make is simple, but it's everywhere.

[00:15:15]>> That's exactly it. Simple words used deeply. That's the secret to sounding fluent. Not big vocabulary. Deep vocabulary.

[00:15:25]>> Deep vocabulary. I like that. May, can we say that again?

[00:15:30]>> Deep vocabulary. Knowing one word in many ways is more powerful than knowing many words shallowly. And make is the perfect example.

[00:15:40]>> Okay. Before we close, a quick challenge for our listeners.

[00:15:45]>> Yes. Here's your challenge. Try to use at least three different meanings of make in your daily life today. Make breakfast. [music] Make a decision. Make it to somewhere and notice how you feel.

[00:15:59]>> And we have a question for you in [music] the comments. Which use of make surprised you the most today? Was it make meaning to equal something? Make it meaning to arrive [music] with triumph?

[00:16:11]Or maybe make do.

[00:16:13]>> Tell us in the comments. We read every single [music] one and we love hearing from you. Your comments genuinely make our day. See what I did there?

[00:16:24]>> Make our day. [music] use number 14.

[00:16:26]Maybe [laughter] >> we'll save that for next time. [music] All right, English learners, that's a wrap on today's episode of Speak English with Jay and [music] May.

[00:16:37]>> If you're new here, welcome to the family. Subscribe so you never miss an episode. We're here [music] every day with something new to help your English grow.

[00:16:46]>> And if today helped you even a little, share it with one [music] friend who's learning English. That one share means the world to us and to them.

[00:16:55]>> Until tomorrow, [music] keep practicing, keep growing, and remember, >> simple words [music] used deeply will take you further than you think. See you tomorrow, English [music] learners.

[00:17:06]>> Bye everyone. Take care.

[00:17:12]>> [music]