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Today I’m going to finish writing about the various uses of the verb “make”.

9. to choose a certain person or place for a specific role. For example:

The executives at the company decided to make Gordon the new vice president.

I’ve decided to make Toronto my new home.

10. to cause a person to have a certain feeling. For example:

Doing presentations in front of many people makes me nervous.

A: What makes you happy?

B: Spending time with my friends makes me happy.

11. to achieve a previously set goal. For example:

I don’t think we’ll make the deadline for this project.

Most of the sales people made their quotas last month, but I didn’t.

12. to cause something to happen. For example:

The company’s decision to cut salaries made many people quit.

A loud noise makes the baby cry.

13. to be of a certain quality in a certain role in the future (often used with the verb “think”). For example:

Jenny just told me she’s pregnant. I think she’ll make a wonderful mother.

Bill was just promoted to department manager, but nobody thinks he’ll make a good supervisor.

14. to add up to a certain total. For example:

Seven and four make eleven.

We have 20 people on our team and the other team has 14 members, so that makes 34 people in total.

15. to cause a certain period of time to be very positive. For example:

Thanks for giving me such a nice present. You really made my day!

It really made my year when my girlfriend told me she loved me.

16. to constitute a difference between two possible situations. For example:

It makes no difference if we finish this project on Thursday or Friday.

Yvonne’s help made a big difference with this project. I have to thank her later for her hard work.

17. to force someone to do something they don’t want to do. For example:

When I was young, my mother made me clean my room every week.

My boss is making me work on Sunday! I hate him!

18. to turn left or right. For example:

When you get to the next corner, make a left and then walk down that street for five minutes.

We need to make a right here if we’re going to the airport.

So these are the main ways we use “make” as a verb. There are other less common ways in which we use it but, in my opinion, these are the most useful ones. I know that sometimes the definitions are hard to understand, so I think it’s better to focus on the examples. My advice, as always, is to memorize the example sentences and then change the small details to make new sentences.

Recently, I wrote a series of blogs about the verb “get”. I’d like to do the same thing today with the verb “make”. Here are the first few ways in which we can use “make”:

1. to create something. For example:

My sister makes her own clothes. I think they look really nice.

I made this table in high school, and my parents still use it in their house.

2. to prepare a meal. For example:

I’ll make you some scrambled eggs for breakfast.

I don’t feel like making dinner tonight. Let’s go out instead.

3. to fold the covers neatly on a bed after sleeping in it. For example:

I make my bed every morning, so it always looks neat.

My mother got mad at me because I forgot to make my bed.

4. to use a telephone to call someone. For example:

I have a few phone calls to make. Would you please excuse me?

I made a few calls yesterday to people I know, and I found someone who can give you a job.

5. to earn money. For example:

How much money do you make?

I didn’t make much money last year, so I need to find a better paying job.

6. to get new friends. For example:

I want to make some new friends.

My sister is very shy, so she finds it difficult to make friends.

7. to score a point in a sports game. For example:

Jim Peterson just made an amazing goal! Did you see it?

The Dallas Cowboys need to make this touchdown in order to win the game.

8. to reach a decision. For example:

I’ve made the decision to quit my job and go back to school.

Which restaurant shall we go to? I’m really hungry, so can we please make a decision now?

These are the first few ways we can use the verb “make”. I’ll continue with this series next week.