Collocations with give are common English word combinations such as give advice, give permission, give someone a chance, and give a presentation.
In these expressions, give does not always mean handing something to another person. You can give someone information, offer help, allow an activity, or cause a particular reaction.
For example, give someone a lift means take them somewhere in a vehicle, while give rise to means cause something to happen or develop.
Common Collocations with Give and Example Sentences
These expressions appear in everyday conversations, workplaces, education, and more formal situations. The examples show how they fit into complete sentences, including words that naturally follow them.
Advice, Information, and Communication
| Collocation | Example sentence |
|---|---|
| Give someone advice | Before her first exhibition, Clara’s former tutor gave her advice on arranging the paintings. |
| Give someone information | The ticket clerk gave the passengers information about the last ferry of the evening. |
| Give someone an answer | The landlord promised to give the tenants an answer by Friday. |
| Give an explanation | The engineer gave a detailed explanation of why the old bridge needed repairs. |
| Give an example | During the workshop, the instructor gave an example of how to improve a confusing paragraph. |
| Give someone feedback | After listening to the recording, the producer gave the singer feedback on her pronunciation. |
| Give someone a call | I’ll give the repair company a call once the replacement parts arrive. |
Help and Personal Support
| Collocation | Example sentence |
|---|---|
| Give someone a hand | When the bookshelf arrived, Ravi gave his neighbour a hand carrying it upstairs. |
| Give someone a lift | Hannah gave her colleague a lift to the station after the evening shift. |
| Give someone a hug | Before leaving for university, Noah gave his grandmother a hug. |
| Give someone support | The community centre gave families practical support after the severe flooding. |
| Give someone encouragement | Before their first lesson, the instructor gave the nervous swimmers some encouragement. |
| Give someone hope | The early test results gave the researchers hope that their new method might work. |
Give someone a lift and give someone a ride both mean taking someone somewhere in a vehicle. Lift is particularly common in British English, while ride is the usual American English choice.
Opportunities, Permission, and Decisions
| Collocation | Example sentence |
|---|---|
| Give someone a chance | The theatre director gave a young performer a chance to audition for the leading role. |
| Give someone a choice | The airline gave passengers a choice between a later flight and a refund. |
| Give someone permission | The building owner gave the film crew permission to use the courtyard. |
| Give someone an opportunity | A marine conservation programme gave students an opportunity to help monitor nesting sea turtles. |
| Give priority to something | During the restoration, the council gave priority to repairing the damaged roof. |
Presentations and Public Communication
| Collocation | Example sentence |
|---|---|
| Give a presentation | Leila gave a presentation about the findings from her coastal wildlife survey. |
| Give a speech | At the retirement dinner, the head teacher gave a speech about the school’s history. |
| Give a lecture | A visiting historian gave a lecture on the city’s early printing industry. |
| Give an interview | The award-winning photographer gave an interview to a local newspaper. |
| Give evidence | A former employee gave evidence during the court proceedings. |
Both give a presentation and make a presentation are accepted in English. They often have the same meaning when someone is presenting information to an audience.
Reactions, Impressions, and Effects
| Collocation | Example sentence |
|---|---|
| Give someone a headache | The constant drilling next door gave Marta a headache before lunchtime. |
| Give someone confidence | Completing the first solo journey gave Isaac confidence to travel further. |
| Give the impression that | The empty shelves gave the impression that the shop was closing, although it was only being renovated. |
| Give rise to something | The revised parking rules gave rise to several complaints from residents. |
| Give someone a reason to do something | The unexpected delays gave the passengers a reason to question the revised timetable. |
| Give someone a warning | The ranger gave the hikers a warning about the unstable path. |
Recognition and Other Common Expressions
| Collocation | Example sentence |
|---|---|
| Give someone credit for something | The organiser gave the volunteers credit for keeping the event running despite the power failure. |
| Give someone notice of something | The organiser gave participants two weeks’ notice of the change in venue. |
| Give something some thought | Before accepting the new position, Daniel gave the offer some thought. |
| Give something a go | After attending a weekend baking workshop, Nina decided to give bread-making a go. |
| Give way to something | As the afternoon passed, the heavy rain gave way to clear skies. |
How the Meaning Changes with Give
Some expressions with give have alternatives involving offer, take, get, or another verb. The choice can change who performs the action, what receives it, or how the result is described.
Give Advice, Offer Advice, or Take Someone’s Advice?
Imagine that Mia is considering changing careers.
Her former manager gave her advice about preparing for interviews.
The manager provided guidance.
A careers adviser offered to give her advice about retraining opportunities.
The adviser made help available, although this sentence does not establish that Mia accepted it.
Mia took her manager’s advice and updated her portfolio before applying.
Here, Mia followed the recommendation.
Give advice focuses on providing guidance. Offer advice may describe making guidance available or actually providing it. For example, the consultant offered useful advice can mean the advice was provided. Take someone’s advice usually means following that person’s recommendation.
Give Permission, Ask for Permission, or Get Permission?
Suppose a documentary team wants to film inside a historic building.
The team asked for permission to film inside the building.
The building manager gave the team permission to film in the entrance hall.
Once the team got permission, it arranged the filming schedule.
Ask for permission means request approval, give permission means grant it, and get permission means receive it.
Give Someone a Chance or Give Something a Chance?
Both expressions are natural, but the object changes the meaning.
The music teacher gave Priya a chance to perform at the end-of-term concert.
Priya received an opportunity.
Now compare:
Although the new scheduling system seemed complicated, the staff agreed to give it a chance.
Here, give something a chance means try it or allow it an opportunity to prove useful before judging it.
Give Someone a Hand or Lend Someone a Hand?
Imagine that several volunteers are preparing a community garden.
Marcus gave the volunteers a hand moving the raised planting beds.
His neighbour lent them a hand carrying the heavier equipment.
Give someone a hand and lend someone a hand are common informal expressions for helping someone.
However, give someone a hand can also mean applaud someone, especially when addressing an audience.
After the final performance, the host asked everyone to give the young musicians a hand.
In that context, the expression means clap for the musicians rather than help them.
Give Rise To, Lead To, or Cause?
These expressions can all connect an event or action with a result.
The unusually dry summer gave rise to concerns about the town’s water supply.
The closure of the main road led to longer journeys for commuters.
A damaged pipe caused flooding in several ground-floor rooms.
Give rise to means cause something to appear, develop, or begin. It is particularly common in formal writing.
Lead to describes a result that follows from an event, action, or situation.
Cause identifies something as responsible for an outcome.
All three can describe a cause and its result, but give rise to is particularly common when discussing the development of concerns, questions, or new situations.
Using Collocations with Give Correctly
Some expressions with give allow more than one object arrangement. Others have particular prepositions or use uncountable nouns.
Give Someone Something or Give Something to Someone?
When give describes transferring an object, two common patterns are possible.
The receptionist gave Maya the documents.
The receptionist gave the documents to Maya.
Both sentences are correct.
The patterns are:
Give + person + thing
Give + thing + to + person
However, not every expression with give follows both patterns equally naturally.
Compare:
The photograph gave Maya an idea for her next painting.
Here, give someone an idea means cause a thought or suggestion to occur to someone.
Give an idea to Maya would not be the usual way to express that meaning.
Similarly:
The successful trial gave the researchers hope.
The instructor’s reassurance gave the beginners confidence.
In expressions such as give someone hope, give someone confidence, and give someone an idea, the person experiencing the feeling or thought normally comes before the noun.
Give Advice, Not Give an Advice
Advice is uncountable in standard English.
Incorrect: The mentor gave me an advice.
Correct: The mentor gave me some advice.
To refer to one particular recommendation, use a piece of advice.
Before her first solo journey, Emma received a useful piece of advice about keeping copies of important documents.
Other common uncountable nouns used with give include information and permission.
Incorrect: The office gave us an information about the timetable.
Correct: The office gave us information about the timetable.
Incorrect: The manager gave them a permission to enter.
Correct: The manager gave them permission to enter.
A countable noun may be used when the meaning calls for one:
The office gave us a useful explanation of the timetable changes.
Complete Patterns with Give
Some expressions have a preposition or clause that completes their meaning.
| Complete pattern | Example |
|---|---|
| Give priority to something | The organisers gave priority to visitors with pre-booked tickets. |
| Give credit to someone for something | The curator gave credit to the restoration team for its careful work. |
| Give rise to something | The discovery gave rise to questions about the painting’s origin. |
| Give someone notice of something | The supplier gave customers notice of changes to its delivery arrangements. |
| Give the impression that something is true | The unfinished website gave the impression that the business was no longer operating. |
In give the impression that, that introduces a clause rather than functioning as a preposition.
After give the impression of, we can use a noun phrase or an -ing expression.
The carefully arranged furniture gave the impression of a much larger room.
By answering confidently, Oliver gave the impression of knowing the subject well.
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