[Idiom] RECEIVE PAYMENT

[EverLivingPoet]

"Mr Suwondo, and the others who had received payment, were eventually tracked down."

I found the sentence from some "The Economist" article. Should "a" be added between "received" and "payment"?

 

[SoothingDave]

No.

 

[EverLivingPoet]

what about "make payment"?

 

[SoothingDave]

No. One makes a payment. One has made a payment. Or "One has made payments."

 

[EverLivingPoet]

so i must "make a payment", but could either "receive payment" or "receive a payment"? so "make" is not as flexible as "receive"?

 

[SoothingDave]

I don't think it's a question of the "flexibility" of the verbs. It's the "receive payment" is idiomatic, while "make payment" is not.

 

[EverLivingPoet]

Then according to your theory, "delay payment" and "withhold payment" are just as idiomatic as "receive payment"? What about "miss payment"?

 

[SoothingDave]

I could see "miss payment" in some circumstances.

 

[EverLivingPoet]

it looks like i will never learn good english

 

[SoothingDave]

The use of articles is one of the most difficult things to learn.

 

[Rover_KE]

It looks like I will never learn good English.

Make sure you write grammatically at all times.

Rover

 

[EverLivingPoet]

"It was bad hunting, and the Tanana people made payment for the bad hunting."

London Short Story: The White Man's Way (World of Jack London)

That quote came from Jack London's "The White Man's Way". So, "make payment" is idiomatic after all.

 

[5jj]

"It was bad hunting, and the Tanana people made payment for the bad hunting."

London Short Story: The White Man's Way (World of Jack London)

That quote came from Jack London's "The White Man's Way". So, "make payment" is idiomatic after all.

No it isn't. Note who is speaking the words.

 

[EverLivingPoet]

Jack London was an revered American writer. His writings are at the level of deities.

 

[5jj]

In my last post I suggested: note who is speaking the words. The character in London's story is not a native speaker of English. His English is not perfect.

 

[EverLivingPoet]

OK. I got it. Thanks.