A cat <goes /makes> meow? (How to say it?)

[marielune]

I know we can say the cat meows or the cat mews but

Can we say the cat goes "meow" ?
Can we say the cat makes "meow" ?
What is the right verb to use with "meow" ?

Thank you

 

[prawer]

That's an interesting question, marielune. I expect that if you are using "meow" as a noun, the register of the piece that you are writing is fairly low, and perhaps intended to be accessible to children. In that case, I know that some of the children's media I'm familiar with would be more likely to use "goes 'meow'" than "makes 'meow'"; in other kinds of writing, though, you might be more likely to say that the cat mewed (past) or mews (present). I had to think for a minute about this, as "mewing" and "purring" are different sounds, the former less often described than the latter with a single verb.

 

[apex39]

"Cat meows."

"Meow" is a verb on its own. It does not require any additional verb.

 

[earthmerlin]

I know we can say the cat meows or the cat mews but

Can we say the cat goes "meow" ?
Can we say the cat makes "meow" ?
What is the right verb to use with "meow" ?
Thank you

When talking to my toddler, I'd say, 'The cat says 'meow''. I'm not sure if you're using in this context but I hope this helps!

 

[Parla]

"Makes"? No. We do say that a cat goes "meow" and, despite the fact that cats don't really say things, we also say that a cat says "meow".

 

[Giorgio Spizzi]

Hi, apex.

I'm afraid "Cat meows." doesn't exist. You can say either "Cats meow", or "A cat meows", or The cat (the "set" of all cats in the world) meows".

Best.

GS

PS I'm aware of the difficult time you, as a speaker of a slav language, may be having with the use of articles in English.

 

[ewie]

Dogs go 'woof',
Cats say 'miaow',
And 'moo' is the noise
made by a cow.

~ewie, aged 8¼

 

[natkretep]

I agree with ewie, and if you want make in the active, you can say, 'the cat makes a meow sound'.

~ Nat, aged 7¾

 

[Rover_KE]

'Cat goes miaow' has always worked for me. I'll continue to affirm the fact as long as I live.

Rover

​aged 73

 

[marielune]

I agree with Rover. (except it would be cats go miaow or the cat goes miaow...) I just wanted to know from native speakers if there was anything else possible. Now I know that not only does the cat go meow but it also says meow... wow! Thanks to you all for your answers!

ML

 

[bicontinental]

the verb "go" works well..consider what you ask your little one: "how does the cat go?"

 

[apex39]

Hi, apex.

I'm afraid "Cat meows." doesn't exist. You can say either "Cats meow", or "A cat meows", or The cat (the "set" of all cats in the world) meows".

Best.

GS

PS I'm aware of the difficult time you, as a speaker of a slav language, may be having with the use of articles in English.

You can type "cat meows at night" in google and there are some results

 

[PaulQ]

"cat meows at night", without checking, I think that you will find that, in context, cat is an adjective and meows is a noun.