Have, Take, Get: 30 Workplace Verbs Taiwan Pros Mix Up (2026) | Have Take Get 搭配詞

You want to schedule a meeting with your boss next Tuesday. Do you have a meeting, take a meeting, or make a meeting? If you have ever paused mid-email wondering which verb sounds natural, you have hit one of the trickiest layers of professional English: collocations (英文搭配詞). The right verb-noun pairing sounds effortless to a native ear. The wrong one sounds like a direct translation from Chinese — technically grammatical, but unnatural.

本文重點:本篇文章專為台灣上班族 (Taiwan professionals) 整理 30 個關鍵的 Have、Take、Get 英文搭配詞，提供實用例句與常見錯誤對照。學會這些商業英文 (business English) 搭配詞，能讓你的 email、會議與多益 (TOEIC) 口說更自然流利。適合英文家教 (English tutor) 補充教材，幫助台灣英文學習者快速提升職場英語能力，避免直譯式中式英文。

Why Have, Take, and Get Confuse Taiwan Learners | 為什麼這三個動詞讓人困惑

In Chinese, one verb often covers what English splits across three. The verb 「有」 might pair with almost anything you possess or experience. But in English, the natural verb shifts depending on the noun. You have a meeting, but you take a break and get a promotion. Memorizing each combination as a fixed phrase is faster — and far more reliable — than translating word by word.

This is the heart of collocation learning: stop thinking in single words and start thinking in pairs. The 30 collocations below are the ones I hear Taiwan office workers mix up most often in client calls, emails, and TOEIC speaking simulations.

10 Essential HAVE Collocations | 10 個必學 HAVE 搭配詞

The verb “have” usually pairs with experiences, conversations, and short events. Below are ten combinations you will use almost every workweek.

• have a meeting — “We have a meeting at 3 PM with the Tokyo team.”
• have a conversation — “Can we have a conversation about the project timeline?”
• have a discussion — “The team had a long discussion about Q3 targets.”
• have a chat — “Let’s have a quick chat after lunch.”
• have a problem — “We have a problem with the supplier’s shipment.”
• have an idea — “I have an idea for the new marketing campaign.”
• have a question — “I have a question about the contract terms.”
• have a chance — “Did you have a chance to review the proposal?”
• have lunch / have dinner — “Let’s have lunch together on Friday.”
• have a deadline — “We have a deadline this Thursday at 5 PM.”

Notice the pattern: these all involve experiencing or participating in something. You don’t take a meeting in standard English (Americans use it casually for phone meetings, but it sounds odd in writing), and you definitely don’t make a chat.

10 Essential TAKE Collocations | 10 個必學 TAKE 搭配詞

The verb “take” pairs with actions you choose to do, time you set aside, and responsibilities you accept. Think of “take” as picking something up — physically, mentally, or as a duty.

• take a break — “Let’s take a fifteen-minute break.”
• take notes — “Please take notes during the client call.”
• take responsibility — “The manager took responsibility for the delay.”
• take a look — “Can you take a look at this draft before I send it?”
• take time off — “I’m taking time off next week for Lunar New Year.”
• take a photo — “Could you take a photo of the whiteboard?”
• take action — “We need to take immediate action on this complaint.”
• take a course — “She’s taking a business English course this semester.”
• take advantage — “Take advantage of the year-end training budget.”
• take a risk — “Launching now would be taking a big risk.”

One common Taiwan mistake: saying “I want to have a course” instead of “I want to take a course.” The correct collocation is always take a course. Same with photos — you take them, not shoot them (unless you’re a professional photographer).

10 Essential GET Collocations | 10 個必學 GET 搭配詞

The verb “get” describes receiving, obtaining, or arriving at something. It’s the most flexible of the three — and the most overused by intermediate Taiwan learners. Master these ten before you wander into more advanced get-phrases.

• get a job — “She got a job at TSMC after graduation.”
• get a promotion — “He got a promotion to senior manager last month.”
• get a discount — “We got a 20 percent discount on the bulk order.”
• get an email — “Did you get my email about the schedule change?”
• get permission — “We need to get permission from HR first.”
• get feedback — “I want to get feedback on this draft.”
• get a chance — “I didn’t get a chance to call her back.”
• get a refund — “The customer wants to get a refund.”
• get into trouble — “Don’t reply to that — you’ll get into trouble.”
• get the point — “I get the point, but I don’t agree.”

“Get” works in both casual and business English. In very formal writing, swap “get” for receive hoặc obtain. “We received your application” reads more professional than “We got your application,” but both are correct.

5 Common Mistakes Taiwan Pros Make | 台灣上班族最常犯的 5 個錯誤

Even confident English speakers stumble on these. Read each pair and check which version you would have used.

Mistake 1: Make a meeting | 開會用錯動詞

Sai: “Let’s make a meeting tomorrow.”
Phải: “Let’s have a meeting tomorrow.” (Or even better: “Let’s schedule a meeting tomorrow.”)

Mistake 2: Have a rest vs. Take a rest | 休息一下說錯動詞

Both are technically used, but Americans strongly prefer take a break hoặc get some rest. “Have a rest” sounds British or textbook. In Taiwan business contexts — especially with US clients — default to take a break.

Mistake 3: Take a decision | 做決定用錯動詞

Sai: “Let’s take a decision by Friday.”
Phải: “Let’s make a decision by Friday.” Decisions are made, not taken, in American English. (British speakers say “take a decision” but Taiwanese learners almost always work with US-style English.)

Mistake 4: Get knowledge | 學知識用錯動詞

Sai: “I want to get more knowledge about AI.”
Phải: “I want to gain more knowledge about AI.” Or simply: “I want to learn more about AI.” Knowledge is gained or acquired, not gotten.

Mistake 5: Have a phone call | 電話通話用錯動詞

Tốt hơn: “Let’s have a call” or “Let’s get on a call.” “Have a phone call” is grammatical but feels wordy in spoken business English. In emails, “jump on a call” is friendly and natural.

How to Learn Collocations Faster | 如何快速記住英文搭配詞

The traditional Taiwan classroom approach — memorize single words from a wordlist — does not build collocation knowledge. Try these four techniques instead.

1. Read in chunks, not single words | 用整組詞記憶

When you encounter a new verb-noun pair, copy the entire phrase into your vocabulary notebook. Write “have a deadline,” not just “deadline.” Write “take responsibility,” not just “responsibility.” Your brain remembers patterns more easily than isolated words.

2. Use a collocation dictionary | 善用搭配詞詞典

Free tools like the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary online tell you which verbs pair naturally with each noun. Before you write any important business email, look up the key noun and pick the matching verb. Two minutes of lookup saves you from “do a decision” and “make a research.”

3. Shadow native speakers | 跟讀英語母語人士

Pick a business podcast like the BBC’s The Bottom Line, or a TED talk on a familiar topic. Pause every two minutes and repeat the speaker’s exact phrases. You are not learning words in isolation — you are learning combinations the way a native ear is trained.

4. Write daily work sentences | 每日造句練習

Each day, write three sentences using new collocations drawn from your real work. “I had a difficult conversation with HR.” “We took action on the customer complaint.” “I got positive feedback on the quarterly report.” Real context produces real retention.

Quick Self-Test | 快速自我檢測

Fill in the missing verb — have, take, or get — in the correct form. Answers below the list.

1. Could you ___ a look at this contract before Friday?
2. She finally ___ a promotion after three years.
3. Let’s ___ a quick chat after the standup meeting.
4. I need to ___ permission from my manager first.
5. The team ___ a fifteen-minute break at 3 PM.
6. We ___ a problem with the new vendor’s invoicing.
7. Did you ___ my email about the schedule change?
8. He ___ full responsibility for the missed deadline.

Answers: 1. take, 2. got, 3. have, 4. get, 5. took, 6. have, 7. get, 8. took.

If you scored 6 or higher, your collocation instinct is solid. If you missed three or more, bookmark this page and review the lists weekly until the pairings feel automatic.

Frequently Asked Questions | 常見問題

Are collocations the same as phrasal verbs? | 搭配詞和片語動詞一樣嗎？

No. Phrasal verbs combine a verb plus a preposition or adverb that changes the meaning, like “look up” (to research) or “give in” (to surrender). Collocations are simply words that naturally pair together, like “heavy rain” or “have a meeting.” A phrase like “take off” is a phrasal verb; “take a chance” is a collocation.

How many collocations should I learn each week? | 每週應該學幾個？

Five to ten new collocations per week is realistic for a working professional in Taipei. Quality beats quantity. Three collocations you can use confidently in real emails are worth more than thirty you saw once in a vocabulary app and never used again.

Do TOEIC and IELTS test collocations? | 多益、雅思考嗎？

Yes. TOEIC Reading Part 5 and IELTS Writing Task 2 both reward natural collocations. Examiners notice when “make a decision” comes out as “do a decision,” and your score suffers. Strong collocation use is one of the fastest ways to jump from band 6 to band 7 on IELTS Writing.

Is it OK to use “get” in formal business emails? | 商務email可以用 get 嗎？

Sometimes. “Get back to you” and “get a chance” are fine in most business contexts. But in formal proposals or contracts, replace “get” with receive, obtain, or acquire. When in doubt, read the sentence aloud — if it sounds casual, formalize it.

Final Takeaway | 結語

Collocations are the difference between English that is grammatically correct and English that sounds native. Have, take, and get are the three workhorse verbs of business communication in Taiwan, so anchoring them is the highest-leverage move you can make this month. Keep this list bookmarked, run the self-test every Friday afternoon, and try one new collocation in tomorrow morning’s email.

The next time your boss asks “Can we have a meeting?” — you will know exactly why that verb feels right.

Sources & Further Reading | 資料來源

• Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries — Free online collocation lookup for every noun and verb
• Nhà xuất bản Đại học Cambridge — Publisher of the standard English Collocations in Use series
• Hội đồng Anh — Free ESL grammar and vocabulary learning resources
• TED — Real-world English shadowing material across business and tech topics