This is Bing Su from China, and you are listening to Everybody ESL.
Welcome to episode 436 of Everybody ESL, the podcast for everybody who wants to improve their English, practice their English or just learn more English.
My name is Ben and I have a mini episode for you today where I am going to teach you about one English topic.
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Okay, let's get on with this mini-episode.
In this episode, I am going to teach you an interesting and useful phrasal verb.
If you don't remember, phrasal verbs are a kind of compound verb.
They're made of two parts.
This phrasal verb is make do, make do.
That's M-A-K-E-D-O, make do.
It might sound a little bit strange to think of that as one verb make do, but that is how we use it.
We use it as one verb.
And what does it mean to make do?
To make do means to manage or to try to succeed with limited resources, with resources that might not be enough, that might not be good enough for what you are trying to do.
I think that might sound a little bit complicated.
It might sound more complicated than this special verb really is.
Let me give you an example of the kind of situation where somebody might use make do, and then I think you will understand what it means and how to use it.
Imagine that you want to prepare a special meal.
Maybe you have friends coming over and you want to give them a delicious and special dinner.
But you had a little bit of bad luck.
Let's say that your car broke down.
You could not use your car to go to the grocery store to buy all of the special ingredients that you needed.
Instead, you realize that you will have to use whatever ingredients, whatever food you already have in your kitchen.
When you look at all of the food that you can use to make your special dinner, You might say I have to make do with the food that I already have.
I have to make do with the food I already have.
In other words, I don't have the opportunity to do this the way I want to.
I don't have the opportunity to prepare the kind of special dinner I wanted to.
I will have to use what I already have.
I will have to use these resources that might seem limited or inadequate.
This isn't the kind of food that you wanted to use, but this is what you have, so you will have to make do with this food.
You will have to manage or try to succeed with the resources that you have, instead of with the resources or the ingredients that you wish you had.
You will have to make do with the food you have.
One thing I should tell you about this special verb is that you can use it all by itself.
You can just say make do and not make do with something.
So, going back to this example of having to use the ingredients that you have to make your special dinner, you could say Well, I didn't have a chance to go to the grocery store.
I will just have to make do.
I will just have to make do.
In other words, I will have to manage with the things that I have instead of the things I wish that I had.
And that is make do, an interesting and useful verb that I think you should know.
This is the end of episode 436 of Everybody ESL.
Remember if you have questions about English or if you have comments for me, or if you would like to record an introduction that I can play at the beginning of future episodes.
The same way, Bing Su recorded the introduction you heard at the beginning of this episode.
Send an email to everybodyesl at gmailcom.
I'll be back soon with a new episode.
And until then, keep going, keep practicing, and keep learning.
I'll see you soon.
Goodbye.
