Have a conversation means to talk with someone. It works for any conversation: short or long, pleasant or serious. The other person follows with, and the topic follows about.
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have a conversation with + person; have a conversation about + topic; have a long/short/serious conversation
- I had a long conversation with my landlord about the broken heating.
- We should have a serious conversation about our budget before the holiday.
- On the train I had an interesting conversation with a retired pilot.
What changed
First versionYesterday I made a long conversation with my manager about my salary.
RevisionYesterday I had a long conversation with my manager about my salary.
Make can seem right, because a conversation feels like something you make happen. But in English you have an ordinary conversation: have a conversation, have a chat, have a talk. Made was replaced with had.
Make conversation, without an article, means something else: to keep up polite talk when there's nothing much to say, for example with people you barely know. At the wedding I tried to make conversation with his aunt. Have a conversation is a real conversation about something.
Your turn
I'd like to ___ with you about your test results — have you got ten minutes?
Show the answer
have a conversation — The speaker needs to discuss test results, a conversation with a purpose, so the answer is have a conversation. Make conversation is polite small talk, and nobody discusses results that way.
Describe an important conversation. Say who you talked to and what it was about.
Last month I had a serious conversation with my sister about moving abroad.
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