Make a list means to write things down point by point. People use it for shopping, tasks, questions and words to review: make a shopping list, make a to-do list.
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make a list of + noun; make a shopping/to-do list; make the list/shortlist = be chosen
- Before going to the supermarket, I always make a shopping list on my phone.
- Our teacher asked us to make a list of words we keep forgetting.
- Let's make a list of places we want to visit in Lisbon.
What changed
First versionI made a list from ten words I always forget.
RevisionI made a list of ten words I always forget.
From can seem right for saying what a list is made up of, but in English the items in a list are joined with of: a list of words, a list of tasks. From shows where the items were taken from: a list of words from the text.
With the article the, the phrase gets a different meaning: make the list means to get onto a list, to be selected. Our café made the list of the best places in town means the café was included in the list, not that it wrote one. People say make the shortlist and make the team in the same way.
Your turn
Out of 500 essays sent to the competition, only three from our school ___ of finalists.
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made the list — Essays can't write anything; they could only be selected. So the answer is made the list, meaning they got onto the list of finalists. Made a list would mean the essays wrote a list themselves.
Write about a task you make a list for. Name at least two items that go on it.
Before every trip abroad, I make a list of documents to pack, such as my passport and my insurance papers.
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