Many English learners ask:
- “Should I say make a mistake or do a mistake?
- “Take a decision or make a decision?”
That’s why you need to learn collocations – the natural word combinations that native English speakers use without thinking!
Learning collocations will help you speak and write more naturally, and avoid common mistakes.
In this lesson you’ll learn 100 useful collocations with four extremely common verbs – make, do, take, and get – each one with a clear example sentence.
🔹 Collocations with MAKE
These collocations often involve creating or producing something, or causing a result.
| Collocation | Example Sentence |
|---|---|
| make a mistake | I made a mistake in my calculations. |
| make a decision | She made a big decision about her career. |
| make a difference | Your help really made a difference. |
| make a plan | Let’s make a plan for the weekend. |
| make a wish | Make a wish before you blow out the candles. |
| make an appointment | I made an appointment with the doctor. |
| make money | He makes a lot of money selling software. |
| make friends | It’s easy to make friends at summer camp. |
| make progress | You’ve made great progress this year! |
| make a list | I made a list of things to buy. |
| make a phone call | I need to make a quick phone call. |
| make an effort | Please make an effort to arrive on time. |
| make a noise | Don’t make a noise; the baby’s sleeping. |
| make a choice | You have to make a choice between the two. |
| make a promise | He made a promise to help me move. |
| make an excuse | Don’t make excuses — just fix the problem. |
| make an offer | They made an offer on the house. |
| make a complaint | She made a complaint about the service. |
| make a suggestion | May I make a suggestion? |
| make a prediction | The experts made a prediction about inflation. |
| make a change | It’s time to make some changes in your life. |
| make a speech | He made a speech at the wedding. |
| make an impression | Her presentation made a great impression. |
| make arrangements | We need to make arrangements for transport. |
| make time for (something) | Try to make time for exercise every day. |
🔹 Collocations with DO
Use do for tasks, work, or activities — especially routine or general actions.
| Collocation | Example Sentence |
|---|---|
| do homework | The students are doing their homework. |
| do business | We do business with several suppliers. |
| do the laundry | I usually do the laundry on weekends. |
| do the dishes | Can you do the dishes tonight? |
| do exercise | She does exercise every morning. |
| do research | They’re doing research on climate change. |
| do your best | Just do your best and don’t worry. |
| do someone a favor | Could you do me a favor and close the window? |
| do your hair | She’s doing her hair for the party. |
| do the shopping | We did the shopping yesterday. |
| do a good job | You did a good job on this project. |
| do well (on a test) | He did well on his final exams. |
| do harm | Smoking does harm to your health. |
| do damage | The storm did serious damage to the roof. |
| do a course | I’m doing a course in business English. |
| do your nails | She’s doing her nails right now. |
| do the cleaning | We share the cleaning every weekend. |
| do the cooking | He usually does the cooking at home. |
| do the ironing | I have to do the ironing this afternoon. |
| do the math | Do the math before you make a decision. |
| do your duty | Soldiers must do their duty. |
| do time (in prison) | He did time for fraud. |
| do without (something) | I can do without sugar in my coffee. |
| do the right thing | She always tries to do the right thing. |
| do whatever it takes | We’ll do whatever it takes to win. |
🔹 Collocations with TAKE
Take is common for actions we choose to do or things we receive / experience.
| Collocation | Example Sentence |
|---|---|
| take a break | Let’s take a break and have some coffee. |
| take a seat | Please take a seat and wait for your turn. |
| take a shower | I’ll take a shower before dinner. |
| take notes | The students took notes during the lecture. |
| take care (of someone) | She takes care of her younger brother. |
| take responsibility (for) | He took responsibility for the mistake. |
| take part (in something) | Many countries took part in the conference. |
| take action | It’s time to take action against pollution. |
| take a photo | Can you take a photo of us? |
| take a nap | I took a short nap after lunch. |
| take a trip | We’re taking a trip to Italy this summer. |
| take a chance | You have to take a chance if you want to succeed. |
| take advice | She never takes my advice! |
| take a look | Take a look at this new design. |
| take a deep breath | Take a deep breath and relax. |
| take time | It takes time to learn a language well. |
| take the bus/train | I usually take the bus to work. |
| take place | The meeting will take place tomorrow. |
| take pride in (something) | He takes pride in his work. |
| take an exam | I’m taking my driving exam next week. |
| take effect | The new law takes effect next month. |
| take after (someone) | She takes after her mother. |
| take it easy | Take it easy — everything will be fine. |
| take responsibility for | The manager took responsibility for the error. |
| take care (of yourself) | Take care of yourself while I’m away. |
🔹 Collocations with GET
Get often shows change, movement, or obtaining something.
| Collocation | Example Sentence |
|---|---|
| get married | They got married last spring. |
| get dressed | Hurry up and get dressed! |
| get ready | We’re getting ready to leave. |
| get lost | We got lost on the way to the hotel. |
| get up | I usually get up at 6 a.m. |
| get together | Let’s get together for coffee sometime. |
| get along (with someone) | Do you get along with your coworkers? |
| get home | I got home very late last night. |
| get angry | He gets angry when people interrupt him. |
| get a job | She finally got a job at the bank. |
| get a degree | He got his degree in computer science. |
| get permission | We need to get permission before we publish it. |
| get the chance | I never got the chance to thank you properly. |
| get the impression | I got the impression she wasn’t interested. |
| get rid of (something) | It’s time to get rid of old clothes. |
| get in touch (with someone) | I’ll get in touch with you next week. |
| get better | My English is getting better every day. |
| get worse | The weather is getting worse again. |
| get used to (something) | You’ll get used to living abroad. |
| get into trouble | The kids got into trouble at school. |
| get over (something) | It took her months to get over the breakup. |
| get around (to doing something) | I finally got around to cleaning the garage. |
| get by (on something) | Many families get by on very little money. |
| get ahead (in life/work) | He’s working hard to get ahead in his career. |
| get tired of (something) | I’m getting tired of this rainy weather. |
☕ Practice These Collocations:
1️⃣ Choose 10 collocations from each verb and write your own sentences.
2️⃣ Say them out loud to practice your pronunciation and fluency.
3️⃣ Try to use 2 or 3 of them in your next English conversation!
Learn 1000 Collocations FAST!
If you enjoyed this lesson, you’ll love my e-book: 👉 1000 Collocations in 10 Minutes a Day. It includes hundreds of examples + mini quizzes to help you sound more and more natural.
