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
A verb is a word that expresses an action, a state, or an occurrence — the engine of every English sentence. Most verbs have five forms: base (go), -s form (goes), past tense (went), past participle (gone), and -ing form (going). The verb be is the major exception with eight forms; modal verbs like can and must have fewer.
Verbs carry tense (when), aspect (how it unfolds), mood (the speaker's attitude), and voice (active vs passive). Mastering them is foundational — virtually every other grammar topic depends on getting verbs right.
Preposition
A preposition is a small word that links a noun or noun phrase to other parts of the sentence — usually marking time, place, or relationship: in, on, at, to, from, with, over, under, between, during. The book on the table, We met at noon, She lives in Berlin.
Prepositions are deceptively small. Their meaning shifts dramatically by collocation (depend on, good at, afraid of), and their choice rarely translates directly between languages. Picking the right preposition is one of the trickiest, most idiomatic-sounding parts of English.
English Grammar Basics
The English Grammar Basics tag marks quizzes and explainers covering the foundations of English grammar — nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, tenses, voice, mood, and basic sentence structure.
If you're starting out or rebuilding from scratch, this is the tag to follow: every challenge under it is designed to land the core rules without burying you in exceptions. Get the basics solid here and the more advanced topics — conditionals, reported speech, inversion — stop looking like a wall of new rules and start looking like extensions of what you already know.
A1 | Elementary | Beginners
A1 is the starting level of the CEFR framework — the entry point into English. At A1 you can introduce yourself, ask and answer simple personal questions, recognise common signs and instructions, and have short slow-paced conversations on very familiar topics.
Grammatically, A1 covers the building blocks: present-tense forms of be, have, and do; basic word order; simple questions; and the most common determiners, pronouns, and prepositions. Knowing your level matters — A1 material teaches the foundations every later level builds on, while a B1 textbook will overwhelm you. Start here and progress is fast.
Difficulty: Easy
The Easy difficulty tag marks questions and challenges aimed at beginners — typically A1 or early A2 level. Expect single-rule focus, short sentences, common everyday vocabulary, and one clear correct answer. Distractors usually rule themselves out quickly.
Filter by Easy when you're rebuilding fundamentals, warming up before harder material, or testing whether you've truly internalised a basic rule before moving on. Easy doesn't mean trivial — it means the rule itself is unambiguous and the context doesn't pile on extra complications.