Delexical Verbs

also known as ditransitive verbs, are verbs that take two objects:

also known as light verbs or empty verbs, are verbs that have little lexical content of their own and rely heavily on accompanying nouns noun phrases to convey meaning.

These verbs are often considered "light" because they carry less semantic weight compared to other verbs.

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We often use common verbs like have and take with nouns like a shower, a drink:

We call these delexical verbs because the important part of the meaning is taken out of the verb and put into the noun.

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We often put adjectives in front of the noun:

I took cold shower.
She had a nice, refreshing drink.

We use have with:


I had a good breakfast before I left home.
We had a long talk about the problem.
The kids should have a bath before they go to bed.
She generally had a short holiday in July or August.
They had a serious quarrel about their father's will.

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We also use have with nouns formed from verbs:

I think you should have a look at this.
She had a bite of the cake.
I'm thirsty. I'm going to have a drink of water.
I had a listen to that new CD in the car.
They are going to have a swim.

We use take with:


I always take a cold shower in the morning.
You look tired. You need to take a break.

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and with these words:


We took hundreds of photographs on holiday.
Jane always takes a lot of trouble with her homework.

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We also use take with some nouns formed from verbs:

Let's take a walk.
They are going to take a swim.
I think you should take a look at this.

We use give with:


She gave a loud laugh.
John gave a happy smile.
He gave me a nasty kick on the leg.
She gave the children a goodnight kiss and put them to bed.
I have to give a speech at the meeting tomorrow.will.

We use make with:


Try not to make a noise.
They made arrangements to meet the next day.

We use go for a with verbs to do with moving:


I want to get out of here. Let's go for a walk.
He's gone for a ride on his bike.

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We use go with -ing verbs for common activities:

We usually go walking at the weekend.
He goes running every evening after supper.
Mum's out. She's gone shopping.

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Shall we go swimming this afternoon? Or shall we go for a walk?
We're going dancing tonight. Do you want to come?
Mum and Dad have gone shopping.

We use do with -ing nouns to do with work, especially work in the house:

It's your turn to do the cooking.
You do the washing up and I'll do the drying.

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and with other nouns to do with work:

I need to do a few jobs around the house.
I can't come out this evening. I have a lot of work to do.

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We use do with nouns when it is obvious what the action is:

I'll have to do my hair before we go out.
I'll have to brush my hair.

Have you done your teeth?
Have you cleaned your teeth?

A question like
Have you done the car?
Have you washed the car?
Have you mended the car?
Have you put petrol in the car?

depending on the context.

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