manage
The word “manage” is a verb. Use it when a person is in a position of responsibility or in control of a situation:
- Jerry manages a restaurant. He’s the boss. He’s the manager.
- Lupe managed an office when she lived in Mexico. There were ten people who worked under her.
- Have you ever managed a business?
- Can you manage a large machine by yourself, or do you need help?
- Todd mismanaged the company, so he was fired. (mismanage = do a bad job of managing)
He uses a computer to manage the company.
In these sentences, the word “managing” is a gerund. Gerunds have “ing” endings and often come after a preposition:
- Sheila does a good job of managing her household. She takes care of five children and she does all the cooking and cleaning herself.
- Bill is good at managing money. That’s why he works as an accountant.
There are some slightly idiomatic applications for this word. Sometimes the word “manage” means that a person will make the best of a bad situation or do something that is difficult:
- Dan and Sue both lost their jobs, but somehow they’ll manage to make ends meet until they can find new jobs.
- Although it’s hard to believe, the woman who survived the earthquake managed to go five days without any water.
- Despite all of his financial problems, somehow he’ll manage.
- After getting lost, the kids managed to find their way out of the forest.
- How did he manage to get his hand caught in that machine?
The word “management” is a noun:
- The business is under new management.
- The management of the company was given to the owner’s daughter.
- Todd’s mismanagement of the company resulted in the loss of millions of dollars.