Why do native speakers often use delexical structures? [closed]

I am aware that native speakers use

"I made a decision" more often than " I decided."

and

"I took a walk." more often than "I walked."

Why do native speakers use such structures?

Solution 1:

eoisabi.org gives the following reasons [reformatted]:

• Delexical structures are very common in current English. Although the total number of delexical verbs is small, they include some of the very commonest words in the language (give / have / take / make / do / hold / keep / set ...) Delexical structures contribute to the impression of fluency in English given by a foreign user.

• In many cases, there is a verb which has a similar meaning to the meaning of the delexical structure. For example, the verb 'look' means almost the same as 'have a look'.

When the word is a verb, as in 'I looked round the room', you are focusing on the action of looking. When you use the word as a noun in a delexical structure, you are naming an event, something which is complete. This structure often seems to be preferred to a structure in which the verb has greater prominence.

• One difference in meaning between using a delexical structure and a verb with a similar meaning is that the delexical structure can give the impression that the event you are describing is brief. For example,

She gave a giggle

suggests that there was only one quick giggle, whereas

She giggled

does not suggest that the event was brief.

• Another reason for choosing a delexical structure is that you can add further details about the event by using adjectives in front of the noun, rather than by using adverbs. It is more common, for example, to say

He gave a quick furtive glance round the room

than to say

He glanced quickly and furtively round the room,

which is felt to be rather clumsy and unnatural. Here's another example:

He made a sincere personal appeal to the Committee.

I'd add that a major factor is that the non-deverbal 'alternative' may sound stilted or rarefied:

I bathed, and then drank a coffee. Then I walked.

or even ungrammatical

[*; BrE at least]He stopped to photograph.

Solution 2:

You're confusing the term "phrasal verb" with some other concept. A phrasal verb is typically a verb that is combined with a specific preposition (or a particle) that creates a specific meaning.

Your example of "made a..." doesn't create a new definition or meaning. I could very well say "made a cake" or "made the decision" and it has the same meaning, to make/finish/do + something. However, if I said, "ran into [somebody]" this could create specific meaning other than the obvious idea of physically smashing into somebody; it could, and would more probably, mean that you randomly saw somebody that you haven't seen in a long time.