Take a shower means to wash your body under a shower. In British English, have a shower is just as common, and both are correct. The same goes for a bath: take a bath or have a bath.
Want to remember take a shower?
Write a sentence — we'll show the mistakes right away and suggest how to say it more naturally.
The check is taking longer than usual. Your feedback will appear here automatically.
take a shower; have a shower (UK); take/have a quick/cold shower
- I always take a quick shower after the gym before I go to the office.
- The hostel had no hot water, so we had cold showers all week.
- Can I have a shower before dinner? I've been travelling all day.
What changed
First versionI'll make a shower and then call you back.
RevisionI'll take a shower and then call you back.
Make and do can seem like all-purpose verbs, but shower goes only with take or have. Only one verb was changed; the rest of the sentence is correct.
Shower can also be a verb: I showered and got dressed. It is shorter, but in conversation have or take a shower is more usual. If you are already under the water, say: I'm in the shower, I'll call you back.
Your turn
I'm all sweaty after my run, so I'm going to ___ a shower before dinner.
Show the answer
have — Of the two options, only have goes with shower; it is the British partner of take. A native speaker would hear do a shower as a mistake.
Think of coming home after a long journey or a workout. Write where you came back from and what you did right after your shower.
When I got back from a three-day hiking trip, I took a long hot shower and then slept until noon.
Learn to use new words without mistakes
Write phrases with the words you are learning. LetsWords shows mistakes in usage and grammar, suggests corrections and explains them, and review helps the words stick.
