PHRASAL VERBS, IDIOMS AND OTHER EXPRESSIONS USING ‘MAKE’

CHECK YOUR ENGLISH VOCABULARY FOR PHRASAL VERBS AND IDIOMS

PHRASAL VERBS, IDIOMS AND OTHER EXPRESSIONS USING ‘MAKE’

Exercise 1:

Complete the phrasal verbs in bold with an appropriate particle or particles (in, up, out, etc). The situation is explained in italics at the end of each sentence.

1	It's getting late. Why don't you stay? I'll make _____ a bed for you. (The speaker is offering to prepare something – in this case a bed – for a friend)
2	Oh no! Someone has made _____ _____ my mobile phone. (Someone has stolen the speaker's mobile phone)
3	You haven't spoken to each other for days. I think it's time you both made _____. (The speaker thinks that two people should become friendly with each other again after an argument)
4	Can you make _____ the house in the dark? (Two people are trying to find their way to a friend's house in the countryside at night. Because it is dark, they are finding it difficult to see the house)
5	The car costs £2000. I'm paying £1500, and Sally is making _____ the rest. (Sally is making something – in this case a payment – complete: she is paying the other £500)
6	He made _____ that he had won the lottery. (Someone pretended that something was true when it wasn't)
7	I can't make _____ why he didn't come to the party. (The speaker is puzzled about a friend's absence from a party)
8	He made _____ some excuse about the dog eating his homework. (Someone has invented an explanation for something, probably to avoid being punished or embarrassed)
9	He made _____ the property to his daughter last week. (Someone has officially made someone else the owner of a building or piece of land)
10	It's getting late. I should make _____ home. (The speaker thinks she should move towards a place, in this case her home)
11	When he saw the police coming, he made _____ as quickly as possible. (Someone saw the police coming and left quickly)
12	Before I begin work, I should make _____ a list of all the things I need to do. (The speaker is going to write a list of things he needs to do)
13	What do you make _____ our new teacher? (The speaker is asking for someone's opinion about their teacher)
14	The wonderful hotel we stayed at made _____ _____ the terrible weather we had all through the holiday. (The speaker's hotel was so good that the terrible weather didn't matter so much)
15	I'm sorry I forgot your birthday. I'll make it _____ _____ you, I promise. (After doing something bad, the speaker promises to do something good in order to make someone feel better)

Exercise 2:

Some of the words in the following expressions that use make have been replaced with symbols. Each symbol represents a letter of the alphabet. Change these symbols back into letters to make words. The first two have been done for you.

ANSWER KEY

Exercise 1: 1. make up 2. made off with 3. made up (We can also say made it up) 4. make out (This can also be used if you have difficulty hearing or understanding something: "We were at the back of the theatre and we had difficulty making out what the actors were saying") 5. making up 6. made out (that can be removed: "He made out he had won the lottery") 7. make out 8. made up (You can also make up a story to entertain or frighten someone: "Don't worry. He made up the story about someone in the house just to frighten you") 9. made over 10. makefor 11. made off 12. make out (We often use this when we write a cheque: "Who should I make the cheque payable to?" "Could you make it out to Chile Organica Ltd, please?") 13. make of 14. made up for 15. Make … up to Exercise 2: This shows you the 'code' for the symbols in this exercise. The letters C, J, Q, X and Z are not needed in any of the sentences.   1. make-or-break (This can also be used as a verb which means to help someone or something to be very successful or to cause them to fail completely: "Music producers have the power to make or break a new star" ) 2. make it big 3. makes like (This expression is normally only spoken) 4. make up your mind (We can also say make your mind up) 5. made short work of 6. makebelieve 7. made a pig of yourself 8. make the most of 9. made a beeline for 10. made a name for herself 11. make head or tail 12. making ends meet 13. making heavy weather of 14. makes no bones about 15. made a dog's dinner of (We can also say a dog's breakfast or a pig's ear) 16. make light of 17. made of sterner stuff 18. make a mountain out of a molehil