3.33 Verbs with little meaning: delexical verbs

There are a number of very common verbs which are used with nouns as their object to indicate simply that someone performs an action, not that someone affects or creates something. These verbs have very little meaning when they are used in this way.

For example, 'had' in 'She had a shower' has very little meaning in itself. Most of the meaning of the sentence is carried by the noun 'shower'.

• We were having a joke.
• Roger gave a grin of sheer delight.
• He took a step towards Jack.