Set phrase

Question

Hello,Please help. Which of the two phrases below is more natural regarding booking a room in a hotel:#1. do the booking#2 make the bookingAccording to my Google search, the number of hits for #2 is about 10 times more than that of #1.But when it comes to washing, I believe naturally one should say 'do the washing' instead of 'make the washing'. Is there a rule?Thanks,OneInAWhile

Tarirotari · Accepted Answer

The verb for booking is make. eg. I have already made my booking for Christmas.

There are certain guidelines about which words collocate with do or with make, for example, as you said, you use do with activities like washing, or ironing, which produce no physical object.

But some words just happen to go together and you just end up being familiar with them, or at least this is my impression.

You can always check a dictionary of collocations, to make sure which words usually go together.

OnceInAWHile · Answer

tarirotariThere are certain guidelines about which words collocate with do or with make, for example, as you said, you use do with activities like washing, or ironing, which produce no physical object.

Hi,

Could you kindly explain what you mean by 'produce no physical object'?

Best,
OnceInAWhile

Dimsumexpress · Answer

I may be wrong. "Make / do a booking" sounds odd to me. Although it is grammatically correct, in the US, most people would prefer "reserve a room", or " make a reservation."
You may hear "booking" used in reference to factory orders, or tickets and seats for performances

For hotel room, in natural English, we'd say something resembling the following:
" I've made a reservation "
" I've just reserved / booked a room at xyz hotel" ( booked - is ok in this construction)

" I'd like a room " ( saying that at the front desk)

" I'd like to book a room for next weekend " (when you speak to a clerk on the phone to make a reservation )

Set phrase

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions