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give with action nouns

give a cough, etc​

We can replace certain verbs by a structure with give and a noun. This often happens in British English, for example, with verbs referring to sounds made by people (e.g. cough, cry, scream, chuckle, laugh, shout).

  • He gave a cough to attract my attention.
  • Suddenly she gave a loud scream and fell to the ground.

give somebody a smile, etc​

The structure is also used with an indirect object (in both British English and American English) to replace transitive verbs, especially in an informal style. Common expressions:

  • give somebody a smile, a look, a kiss, a hug, a call
  • give something a push, a kick
  • give it a try, a go, a shot
  • give it a miss (BrE)
  • not give it a thought
  • She gave me a strange look.
  • I’ll give you a call if I hear anything.
  • If the car won’t start, we’ll give it a push.
  • ‘Perhaps salt will make it taste better.’ ‘OK, let’s give it a try.’
  • ‘Are you coming to the film?’ ‘No, I’m tired. I’ll give it a miss’ . (BrE)
  • He seemed to be in a bad temper, but I didn’t give it a thought.
note

For taboo expressions like I don’t give a damn/shit, etc, (see here).

For other structures in which nouns replace verbs, (see here).

For more about structures with give, (see here).