Basics. Some Uses of Go, Get, Do & Make, and Have.
Some Uses of Go, Get, Do & Make, and Have
In English, certain verbs have multiple uses and meanings depending on the context. This covers some of the unique uses of the verbs "go," "get," "do," "make," and "have."
Go
"Go" is often used in phrases to describe various activities:
- Go to sleep and Go to bed: Referring to the act of going to rest.
- I was tired and went to sleep early.
- What time did you go to bed yesterday?
- Go home: Returning to one's house.
- I'm going home now.
- Go on: Often used with words like vacation, trip, tour, strike.
- John is going on vacation tomorrow.
- Ontario teachers went on strike.
- Go for: Engaging in a particular activity.
- Do you go for a run every morning?
- Go -ing: Used for sports and shopping activities.
- Are you going shopping this afternoon?
Get
"Get" has multiple meanings:
- Get + noun (receive/buy/find): Obtaining or acquiring something.
- Is it hard to get a job nowadays?
- Get + adjective: Describing a change in state.
- If you work a lot, you get tired.
- David and Natasha are getting married soon.
- Get to a place can be used to indicate arriving at a destination.
- I usually get to work at 9:00 am.
- Get here/there.
- How did you get there?
- Get in, get out: Entering or exiting a vehicle.
- Doug got in the car and drove away.
- The car stopped and Doug got out.
Do & Make
These verbs have different uses.
- Do
- I hate doing housework.
- I have to do twelve exercises for homework tonight.
- I did my best, but I just couldn't win.
- Make
- I'm sorry. I made a mistake.
- I need to make an appointment to see a doctor.
- Hush! Don't make any noise.
- I have to admit that I never make my bed in the morning.
Have and have got
- I have (something) or I've got (something): It is mine.
- Sue has long hair. OR Sue has got long hair.
- Do they have any children? OR Have they got any children?
- I have a headache. OR I've got a headache.
- The past is always "I had" without got:
- I've got some time today.
- Yesterday, I had some time.
- Have: Consuming food or drink.
- I had a cup of coffee this morning.
- "Have a cookie."
- Sometimes only "have" is possible:
- Kate just had a baby. It's a girl.
Verb
If grammar feels overwhelming, the fix is almost always to focus on verbs first. They carry the action, the time, the mood, and the voice — a single verb form decides whether your sentence reads as past or present, fact or hypothetical, active or passive. Get verbs solid and the rest of grammar suddenly looks much smaller.
A verb expresses action, state, or occurrence — the engine of every English sentence. Most verbs have five forms (base, -s, past tense, past participle, -ing); be has eight; modal verbs have fewer. Verbs carry tense, aspect, mood, and voice.
Preposition
If you've ever written I'm interested on you (should be in) or I'm good on football (should be at) — you've hit prepositions' main pitfall. Their choice is mostly idiomatic, not logical, and rarely matches what your native language does. Memorising the right preposition for each common verb and adjective is what stops your speech from sounding subtly off.
A preposition is a small word linking a noun or noun phrase to other parts of the sentence: in, on, at, to, from, with. Marks time, place, manner, or abstract relationships. Choice is largely idiomatic, especially in fixed combinations (depend on, good at, afraid of).
English Grammar Basics
If grammar feels like a tangle of rules you can never quite remember, the fix isn't more advanced material — it's making the foundations automatic. The English Grammar Basics tag is where you do that: the building blocks every other topic stands on. Get these right and the rest stops feeling random.
It marks quizzes and explainers covering the core of English: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, tenses, voice, mood, and basic sentence structure. Useful whether you're a beginner or refreshing rusty knowledge.
A1 | Elementary | Beginners
If you can say your name, ask Where is the toilet?, and read a simple bus sign — but freeze when someone speaks at normal speed — you're at A1. That's not a problem to fix; it's the level where most learners actually live for a while, and recognising it lets you pick the right material instead of drowning in advanced grammar that wasn't meant for you yet.
A1 is the starting level of the CEFR framework, covering basic everyday communication: greetings, introductions, simple personal questions, present-tense forms of be/have/do, and core determiners and prepositions.
Difficulty: Easy
If a textbook leaves you confused, sometimes the issue isn't the topic — it's that the practice material is layered with extra complications. Filtering by Easy strips that away. You get one rule at a time, in plain everyday language, with no trick questions. It's how you make a shaky foundation solid before stacking more on top.
The Easy difficulty tag marks beginner-level questions and challenges — typically A1 or early A2. Single-rule focus, short sentences, common vocabulary, one clear correct answer.