Dummy Verbs for intermediate learners

do dummy verbs give go have make take transitivity

Have you ever repeated a word too much that made you think How boring it got! You can use dummy verbs instead of repeated verbs.

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What Are Dummy Verbs?

Dummy Verbs (also known as delexical verbs) are common verbs like 'go', 'make', or 'take' that have no meaning by themselves and take their meanings from the nouns they are accompanied with.

English Dummy Verbs

Although we use dummy verbs very often in both everyday conversations and academic or formal situations, the number of these verbs is limited.
Here is the list of English dummy verbs:

Have
Take
Make
Give
Go
Do

Have

'Have' as the main verb means possession. But, as a dummy verb, it can commonly appear with these nouns:

Have breakfast
Have a drink
Have a break
Have an argument
Have a conversation

Take

'Take' as a dummy or delexical verb can also be used with many nouns, such as:

Take a shower
Take a risk
Take care
Take a break
Take a photo

Make

We can use 'make' as a dummy verb with the following nouns:

Make a mistake
Make a decision
Make a phone call
Make an attempt
Make a mess

Give

We can also use 'give' as a dummy verb with the following nouns:

Give a hug
Give a shout
Give directions
Give evidence
Give orders

Go

'Go' as a dummy verb can be used with certain gerunds (-ing forms):

Go shopping
Go swimming
Go skiing
Go dancing
Go running

Do

Like 'go', 'do' can also be used with certain nouns or gerunds (-ing forms):

Do the dishes
Do the laundry
Do the ironing
Do the cooking
Do ones hair

Ergative Verbs

Ergative verbs are a type of verbs that can be both transitive and intransitive. In this lesson, we will learn more about this type of verbs.

Complex Transitive Verbs

There are five basic types of verbs: intransitive, linking, mono-transitive, di-transitive and complex-transitive verbs. In this lesson, we'll discuss the last.

Linking Verbs

Linking verbs are connectors of the language. Their only job is to link a subject with a subject complement. Want to know how?

Catenative Verbs

Catenative verbs, also known as chain verbs, are followed by other verbs to form a chain of two or more verbs. In this lesson, we will discuss them in detail.

Reflexive Verbs

Reflexive verbs are verbs that are used transitively to reflect back to the subject. Let us learn more. Follow the article.

Voices

What are voices? How many voices are there in the English Grammar? Here are the most frequently asked questions by learners. Let us find the answers, here.

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