Make is a common purpose verb. It has several meanings.

Study the following sentence.

Ann screamed when she saw the mouse.

The same idea can be expressed using make.

The mouse made Ann scream.

In this case, make means ‘cause something to take place’.

She passed out on hearing the news.

The news made her pass out.

Note that after make we use an infinitive without to.

He made her cry. (NOT He made her to cry.) (NOT He made her cried.)

More examples are given below.

I quit smoking because of my wife’s nagging.

My wife’s nagging made me quit smoking.

He failed his exam because of his addiction to video games.

His addiction to video games made him fail his exam.

Exercise

Rewrite the following sentences using make.

1. I ate the stale bread because I was very hungry.

2. I gave him the keys because he threatened me.

3. He refused my help because he was proud.

4. The teacher lost her temper because the boy was too arrogant.

5. We were happy after hearing the news of his safe arrival.

6. He moved into the country because he couldn’t tolerate the pollution in the city.

Answers

1. Hunger made me eat the stale bread.

2. His threat made me give the keys to him.

3. His pride made him refuse my help.

4. The boy’s arrogance made the teacher lose her temper.

5. The news of his safe arrival made us happy.

6. His inability to tolerate the pollution in the city made him move into the country.