Vocabulary · Lesson 3

Common verbs & adjectives

Turn familiar words into usable language. Learn light-verb chunks such as make a decision, ordinary verb patterns such as listen to an update, and adjective frames such as an expensive ticket, two expensive tickets, and The ticket is too expensive for the stated budget.

45–55 min coremake · do · take · havedirect object · preposition · adjective frame15–20 min optional listening and retrieval

NoticeFind the partners that make each word usable.

DiscoverSeparate collocations, object patterns, and adjective frames.

BuildControl form, meaning, degree, and spoken chunks.

UseBrief a fictional community-center team.

A common word is not automatically an easy word. To use it accurately, learn its partners: do homework, listen to an announcement, call the office, and an inexpensive ticket. These partnerships are called collocations and grammar patterns.

Two-minute retrieval

Three quick checks from earlier lessons

Use the subject and sentence role. Say each complete sentence aloud.

1The fictional coordinator is one person: She a message every morning.

2Rina is already named, and the coordinator calls Rina: The coordinator calls at noon.

3The subject is they and the main verb is work: They not work on Sundays.

Meet common action verbs

Do not learn these as isolated labels. Connect each verb to one complete example chunk.

run in the park

walk to the office

write a message

speak English

read a report

sleep for eight hours

eat lunch

drink water

see a sign

listen to an update

work on a project

buy a ticket

cook dinner

drive a car

dance at an event

sing a song

think about a problem

love music

call the office

Notice the whole light-verb chunk

A fictional center opens for the day

Rina makes the schedule and makes coffee for the welcome table. Lee does the dishes, then takes a break. At ten, they have a meeting. After the meeting, they have coffee with a visitor.

Which nouns travel with make, do, take, and have?
Why does make coffee focus on preparing the drink, while have coffee focuses on drinking it or spending time together?
Can a rough meaning rule help? When do you still need to remember the complete chunk?

Discovery check: choose the complete English collocation

The context and noun together select the light verb.

1The team must choose between two schedules today: They need to a decision today.

2The event kitchen has dirty plates: Lee will the dishes.

3After ninety minutes of work, the plan gives everyone ten minutes to stop: They a ten-minute break.

4The calendar shows a team discussion at ten: They a meeting at ten.

5Rina prepares the drink for the welcome table: She will coffee for the welcome table.

6Afterward, Rina sits down and drinks coffee with the visitor: They coffee together.

Get to the root: light verbs carry the grammar

Make, do, take, and have are called light verbs in these chunks. The noun carries much of the specific meaning, but the verb carries tense, agreement, questions, and negatives.

light verb	useful U.S. English chunks	rough tendency, not a law
make	make a plan · make a decision · make a mistake · make dinner	create, prepare, or produce a result
do	do homework · do the dishes · do a task · do some work	perform work, a task, or an activity
take	take a break · take the bus · take a photo · take a shower	several learned event and transport chunks
have	have lunch · have a meeting · have a question · have a good time	experience, participate in, eat, drink, or possess

The tendencies can help memory, but they cannot generate every answer. Learn the whole chunk. For example, a decision is a result, so make a decision fits the tendency. English also has the single verb decide.

Useful U.S. boundaries

Take the bus and ride the bus are both natural in U.S. English. Go by bus uses by. The grammar viewpoint changes, but the transport can be the same.

Take a shower is especially common in U.S. English. Have a shower is common in British English and is understood in the United States.

Neutral U.S. English usually says exercise, work out, get some exercise, do a workout, or do some exercises. Avoid using bare do exercise as a universal chunk.

Have lunch and eat lunch are both natural. Have presents the meal as an event; eat focuses more directly on consuming food.

Ordinary verbs need the right complement

Some verbs can stand alone. Others take a direct object or a preposition before their partner.

pattern	examples	what to store
verb can stand alone	The visitor sleeps. The group walks.	the verb may be complete in context
verb + direct object	read a report · write a message · buy a ticket · call the office	no extra preposition before the object
verb + preposition + partner	listen to an update · think about a problem · work on a project	store the preposition with the verb
meaning changes the pattern	speak English · speak to the coordinator	language is direct; a person commonly follows to or with

Small words can carry important meaning

Listen to means direct attention to sound. Hear means sound reaches the ears, with or without planned attention. Say listen to the announcement, not listen the announcement.

In ordinary U.S. phone language, say call the office or call her, not call to the office when call means telephone. The noun frame make a call is also possible.

Use buy + thing but pay for + thing: buy a ticket, pay for the ticket.

Drill 1: complete the ordinary verb pattern

1The briefing is written, and Rina reads .

2The audio message begins, and the group listens .

3The profile names the language Rina uses: She speaks .

4Rina needs a conversation with one person: She speaks .

5The team considers one problem before deciding: They think .

6Rina telephones the center: She calls .

Keep the present-simple form around the chunk

purpose	I / you / we / they	he / she / it
positive	They make dinner.	She makes dinner.
negative	They don’t make dinner.	She doesn’t make dinner.
question	Do they make dinner?	Does she make dinner?

Only one verb carries the third-person marker. In a positive sentence, use makes, does, takes, or has. After does or doesn’t, return the main verb to its base form: Does she make...?, not Does she makes...?

Adjectives need a position and a viewpoint

An adjective can come before a noun or after be. It does not change for plural number or gender.

frame	one	more than one
before the noun	an expensive ticket	two expensive tickets
after be	The ticket is expensive.	The tickets are expensive.
question with be	Is the ticket expensive?	Are the tickets expensive?

Do not add plural -s to the adjective: two expensive tickets, not two expensives tickets. Do not add do to a simple be + adjective question: Is it difficult?, not Does it difficult?

Common adjective meanings are not automatic labels

Easy / difficult depends on the task and person. A task can be easy for one learner and difficult for another.
Inexpensive / expensive compares price with a context. Cheap means low-priced but can also suggest low quality. Inexpensive is the more neutral price word.
Busy / free can contrast occupied time with available time. Free also means no cost: The workshop is free.
Interesting / boring evaluates a thing or experience. Different people can evaluate it differently.
Clear / confusing describes information. It does not label the learner’s intelligence or ability.

Many adjective pairs form a useful scale, not a perfect logical switch. Not expensive does not always mean cheap, and a person can be both happy and tired. Do not force every adjective into one opposite pair.

Thing or person: boring / bored

The talk is boring means the talk causes boredom. Maya is bored means Maya experiences the feeling. The same distinction appears in interesting / interested and confusing / confused.

Very and too are not the same

Very increases degree: The ticket is very expensive. Too means more than is acceptable or possible for a stated goal: The budget is $40, but the ticket is $55. It is too expensive for this budget. A high degree alone does not prove too.

Drill 2: build the adjective frame

1The guide names one high-priced option before the singular noun: It is ticket.

2The guide names two high-priced options: They are two tickets.

3The adjective follows the singular verb be: The ticket is .

4The fictional budget is $40, but the ticket costs $55: It is for the budget.

Sound natural: keep the chunk together

Light verbs are often less prominent than their noun partner: make a DEcision · do the DISHes · take a BREAK · have a MEETing. Link the small words: make-a plan · take-a break · have-a question · listen-to an update.

Hear the third-person forms clearly. Makes and takes end /s/. Does, has, reads, calls, and listens end /z/. Doesn’t is commonly two syllables: DUZ-unt. In relaxed U.S. speech, Do you...? may link approximately as d’you or juh; these are listening guides, not spellings.

Stress the informative part of an adjective phrase: an ex-PEN-sive TICKet · a DIF-fi-cult TASK · CLEAR in-STRUCtions. Keep bored one syllable and BOR-ing two.

Listen: which meaning does the chunk carry?

Your teacher reads each fictional line once naturally and once more slowly. Listen for preparation versus experience, both meanings of free, and thing versus person adjectives. Check your answer before discussing the line with your tutor.

Tutor-read listening check

1. What does Clip 1 say Rina does?

2. What does Clip 2 say Rina does?

3. What does Clip 3 mean?

4. What does Clip 4 mean?

5. What does Clip 5 mean?

6. What does Clip 6 mean?

Build complete chunks and forms

Drill 3: match the opening to the partner

Tap an opening, then tap the chunk it completes.

Drill 4: build the negative routine

The fictional schedule says Rina prepares dinner Monday through Thursday, but not Friday.

Drill 5: build the price question

A visitor wants to know whether the workshop has no cost.

Notice and repair errors

Drill 6: one third-person marker

The fictional schedule states a negative Friday routine: “She doesn’t makes dinner on Fridays.” Tap the word to repair.

Drill 7: thing or person?

The fictional speaker reports an experience: “The instructions are confusing, so I am confusing.” Tap the person adjective to repair.

Oral transform: change the viewpoint, not the situation

Say each complete response aloud before revealing it.

1 prepare coffee

Rina makes coffee.

2 drink coffee or spend time together over coffee

Rina has coffee with Lee.

3 use take for bus transport

They take the bus.

4 use ride for the same bus transport

They ride the bus.

5 use go plus the by transport frame

They go by bus.

6 ask whether the workshop has no cost

Is the workshop free?

Read a fictional center update

Harbor Community Center, Tuesday

Rina makes the volunteer schedule and has a meeting at 10:00 a.m. After the meeting, she reads two messages, calls the volunteers, and listens to a recorded update. The 2:00 p.m. workshop is free, so there is no registration cost. Its materials are inexpensive at $5. The written instructions are clear, but the first software task is difficult. At 3:00 p.m., Rina is free and can answer questions.

Read, then choose the exact update information

1. What does Rina listen to?

2. What does free mean for the 2:00 p.m. workshop?

3. When is Rina available to answer questions?

Play and practice

Games and a short reading that recycle this lesson. Use them as a warm-up, a fast finisher, or homework. Each one checks itself.

Read

Monday at the Riverside Library

Read once for meaning. Then read again and do the tasks below.

Staff update85 wordsAbout 1 min

Every Monday, Omar makes the schedule for the library team. At nine, the team has a short meeting. After the meeting, Omar answers emails and calls the city office. At eleven, he takes a break and drinks some water.

In the afternoon, Lina does a difficult task: she checks two hundred new books. The work is boring, but the books are interesting.

At four, Omar and Lina have coffee together. Then Lina makes a list of the new books, and Omar takes the bus home.

Find it

Tap the 7 forms of make, do, take, and have.

Check your understanding

1. Who makes the schedule?

2. What is Lina’s afternoon task like?

3. How does Omar go home?

Crossword

Forms for he and she

Click a clue or a square, then type. Press Check when you finish.

Across

Down

Sort it

Make, do, or take?

Which light verb makes the complete chunk? Tap a word, then tap its box.

Memory

Two ends of a scale

Flip two cards. Find the two adjectives at opposite ends of one scale. A pair stays face up.

Use it safely and flexibly

You never need to disclose your real routine, work, study, homework, chores, meals, purchases, budget, transport, home, family, relationships, schedule, opinions, emotions, body, health, abilities, or access needs. Use the fictional center profiles and task cards, invent details, or share personal information only when you freely choose.

Complete the task board: Turn supplied nouns into whole chunks with make, do, take, or have. Explain when the rough tendency helps and when the chunk must be remembered.

Connect ordinary verbs: Use at least one verb that stands alone, two direct-object verbs, and two verb-plus-preposition patterns from the fictional center update.

Change present-simple form: Take one routine chunk through a positive sentence, negative sentence, yes-or-no question, and short answer with a third-person subject.

Use evidence for adjectives: Describe a fictional ticket, task, workshop, instruction sheet, and talk. State the price, budget, schedule, or profile evidence that makes each adjective defensible.

Final production: give a fictional community-center shift briefing for 45–60 seconds. Use one accurate chunk with each of make, do, take, and have; two ordinary verb patterns including one preposition; one negative or question with a third-person subject; one adjective before a noun and one after be; both meanings of free; one too judgment based on a stated limit; and one thing/person adjective contrast.

Reflect

Say the system back

Complete this aloud: “A light-verb collocation has a general verb plus a specific ______. An ordinary verb may stand alone, take a direct ______, or require a ______. An adjective can come before a noun or after ______, and it does not change for ______ number.”

Then explain make coffee / have coffee, free workshop / free at three, boring / bored, and very / too.

Final quiz: choose from the complete context

1. The team must choose one of two plans: They need to ___ a decision.

2. The event kitchen has dirty plates: Lee will ___ the dishes.

3. The plan gives everyone ten minutes to stop working: They can ___ a break.

4. The calendar shows a team discussion at ten: They ___ a meeting then.

5. An audio announcement begins: The visitors listen ___.

6. The guide lists two tickets with high prices. Which phrase is grammatical?

7. The budget is $40, but the ticket costs $55. It is ___ for this budget.

8. The profile states that the talk causes boredom and Maya experiences it: The talk is boring, and Maya is ___.

Return tomorrow before rereading the lesson. Complete the five-minute next-day retrieval, then revisit only the collocation, complement, present-simple form, adjective frame, or meaning contrast that still feels slow.

Next-day retrieval

Choose the missing partner before rereading

1The team must choose one plan: They need to a decision.

2The audio update begins: The visitors listen the update.

3The fictional profile states Maya’s experience: The talk is boring, and Maya is .

Repair the negative routine

The schedule states a negative Friday routine: “She doesn’t makes dinner on Fridays.” Tap the word to repair.

Thirty-second retrieval

Without looking back, give one chunk with each light verb, one direct-object verb, one verb-plus-preposition pattern, one positive and negative third-person routine, and one adjective before a noun and after be.

Make a decision. Do the dishes. Take a break. Have a meeting. Read a report. Listen to an update. She makes dinner. She doesn’t make dinner on Fridays. It is an expensive ticket. The ticket is expensive.