Let's look at
the verb 'to make' combined with particles. Here are some more of the most
common expressions:
'to make for'
means to go on the direction of.
§ He got up and made for the exit.
§ When he came into the room, he made straight for me.
'to make of'
means think of, have an opinion about.
§ He's a complete mystery to me. I don't know what to
make of him.
§ What do you make of his new girlfriend?
'to make off'
means to leave somewhere very quickly, often to escape.
§ The car didn't stop after the accident but made off at
speed towards the town centre.
§ He snatched her bag and made off down the street
through the crowd.
'to make off
with' means to steal and escape with something.
§ The thieves made off with over one million dollars in
cash.
§ They broke into the house and made off with jewellery
and silver.
'to make out'
means to manage to be able to see or hear something.
§ He was speaking very quietly. I couldn't make out what
he was saying.
§ It was too dark to see. I couldn't make him out
clearly.
'to make out'
can also mean to pretend that something is true.
§ He made out he was very rich when, in fact, he wasn't.
§ She often makes out she is the boss when, really, she
is only an assistant.
'to make up your
mind' means to decide.
§ I bought them both because I couldn't make up my mind
which one to buy.
§ Make your mind up! Which one do you want?
'to make up'
means to say or write something that is not true, to invent a story.
§ It wasn't true at all. They just made it up.
§ I told him I couldn't go and made up an excuse.
'to make up' can
also mean to forgive someone and become friendly with again after an argument.
§ We had a huge argument and but made up later.
§ Half the fun of arguing is making up afterwards!
'to make up for'
means to compensate for something bad that they have done or that has happened.
§ He bought me some flowers to make up for being late.
§ What can I do to make up for forgetting your birthday?