by R. S. Karunaratne

Many uses of 'make'

'Make' is an irregular verb

Present Tense: I make, We make, He makes

Past Tense: I made, We made, He made

Past Participle: I have made, We have made,He has made

Sarala makes her own dresses.

The gate is made of iron.

You have made a silly mistake!

Mother is making tea.

Have you made any progress?

. We use 'make' to talk about producing or performing something.

She will make a cake if you pay her.

Don't make any mistakes in your essay.

You can't make money by selling books.

. 'Make' is used to talk about how things are manufactured.

Sand is used to make glass.

Shyama, can you make a cup of coffee?

Wait, Mother is making a chocolate cake.

Moratuwa is famous for making furniture.

My pen is made in the United States.

. We use 'make' to talk about causing things to happen.

The new book has made the author a millionaire.

Smoking makes people sick.

She will make a mess of it!

What makes you change your mind every now and then?

His funny costumes make me laugh.

. 'Make' can be used to talk about causing someone to do something.

Fine weather makes Sri Lanka a popular tourist destination.

If you take medicine as prescribed, it will make you better.

Striking drivers and conductors made the passengers wait for several hours.

It is your mind that makes you a better person.

Although there is so much of noise, I will make myself heard by everybody.

The king has made a philosopher his trusted adviser.

. We can use 'make' to talk about being forced to do something.

Some undergraduates were made to stand in the sun.

. 'Make' is used with many nouns to mean 'perform an action.'

You have to make an appointment to meet the chairman.

I cannot make a promise, but I'll return the book tomorrow.

She wants to make a telephone call.

Sam agreed to make a donation of Rs. 50,000 to the building fund.

You have to make a decision before September 30.

Some students do not make any effort to learn.

I'm not Jayasena. I think you've made a mistake.

I hope you're making good progress in your studies.

The new director has made a request for a car.

We made an offer of Rs. 2 million for the house.

She said she could not make a speech without preparation.

Drunkards make trouble wherever they go.

. 'Make' can be used in the sense of 'become.'

I don't think Prem will make a good lawyer.

Here's a novel that would make a great film.

. 'Make' can mean 'earn.'

How much are you making as a teacher?

Father made a living as a cook.

Do you know the art of making new friends?

Starters

Pronouns ending in 'self'and 'selves'

Remember this simple rule:

Pronouns ending in 'self' refer to one person. Pronouns ending in 'selves' refer to more than one person. Therefore, a pronoun that ends in 'self' is singular. A pronoun that ends in 'selves' is plural.

Singular pronouns ending in 'self'.

I caught sight of myself in the mirror.

I live by myself (= alone).

Can you see yourself in the mirror?

Be careful with that razor or you will cut yourself.

Did you make the cake yourself?

Don't tell yourself that everything is all right.

He saw himself in the mirror.

He cut himself while shaving.

I want to talk to the principal himself.

Newton wanted to buy a table, but in the end he made one himself.

John got the room to himself (=for his use only).

She saw herself in the mirror.

She told herself that everything would be ok.

She herself admitted that she had told a lie.

The dog scratched itself.

The cat licked itself.

The committee kept the results of the inquiry to itself.

We saw ourselves in the photograph.

We do all the cleaning ourselves.

We had the swimming pool to ourselves.

You can do the gardening Yourselves.

You are watching yourselves on television.

They asked themselves why they had come there.

The children themselves did not know where they were going.

They had the whole house for themselves.

Activity

Choose the correct pronoun ending in 'self' for each sentence

1. I want to learn to type by -- (myself, itself).

2. She asked him, 'Don't you remember when you learned driving by --? (yourself, myself).

3. She taught -- swimming in a week. (herself, myself).

4. I laughed at -- when (I failed to deliver my speech (myself, herself).

5. She can wash her clothes by --. (herself, myself).

Note: 'Myself,''Yourself','Himself', 'Herself','Itself','Ourselves','Themselves' ,'Yourselves' are always written as one word.