Make vs Do– What’s the difference?

Make and do?are two English verbs which are often confused. There are, however, some important differences which can help us choose the right verb.

• Use?DO?for actions, obligations, and repetitive tasks.
• Use?MAKE?for creating or producing something, and for actions you choose to do.
• DO?generally refers to the action itself, and?MAKE?usually refers to the result. For example, if you “make breakfast,” the result is a pancake! If you “make a suggestion,” you have created a recommendation.

HOUSEWORK

• do the housework
• After I got home from the office, I was too tired to do the housework.
• do the laundry
• I really need to do the laundry – I don’t have any clean clothes left!
• do the dishes
• I’ll make dinner if you do the dishes afterwards.
• do the shopping
• I went to the bank, did some shopping, and mailed a package at the post office.

EXCEPTION:?make the bed = putting blankets, sheets, and pillows in the correct place so that the bed looks nice and not messy.

WORK / STUDY

• do work
• I can’t go out this weekend – I have to do some work on an extra project.
• do homework
• You can’t watch any TV until you’ve done your homework.
• do business
• We do business with clients in fifteen countries.
• do a good/great/terrible job
• She did a good job organizing the party.
• (in this expression, “job” doesn’t necessarily refer to work. It simply means the person did something well)
• do a report
• I’m doing a report on the history of American foreign policy.
• (you can also say “writing a report”)
• do a course
• We’re doing a course at the local university.
• (you can also say “taking a course”)

TAKING CARE OF YOUR BODY

• do exercise
• I do at least half an hour of exercise every day.
• do your hair?(= style your hair)
• I’ll be ready to go in 15 minutes – I just need to do my hair.
• do your nails?(= paint your nails)
• Can you open this envelope for me? I just did my nails and they’re still wet.

GENERAL GOOD OR BAD ACTIONS

• do anything / something / everything / nothing
• Are you doing anything special for your birthday?
• You can’t do everything by yourself – let me help you.
• do well
• I think I did pretty well in the interview.
• do badly
• Everyone did badly on the test – the highest grade was 68.
• do good
• The non-profit organization has done a lot of good in the community.
• do the right thing
• When I found someone’s wallet on the sidewalk, I turned it in to the police because I wanted to do the right thing.
• do your best
• Don’t worry about getting everything perfect – just do your best.

Common English Collocations With MAKE

FOOD

• make breakfast/lunch/dinner
• I’m making dinner – it’ll be ready in about ten minutes.
• make a sandwich
• Could you make me a turkey sandwich?
• make a salad
• I made a salad for the family picnic.
• make a cup of tea
• Would you like me to make you a cup of tea?
• make a reservation
• I’ve made a reservation for 7:30 at our favorite restaurant.

MONEY

• make money
• I enjoy my job, but I don’t make very much money.
• make a profit
• The new company made a profit within its first year.
• make a fortune
• He made a fortune after his book hit #1 on the bestseller list.
• make _______
• I made €250 selling my old CDs on the internet.

RELATIONSHIPS

• make friends
• It’s hard to make friends when you move to a big city.
• make a pass at?(= flirt with someone)
• My best friend’s brother made a pass at me – he asked if I was single and tried to get my phone number.
• make fun of someone?(= tease / mock someone)
• The other kids made fun of Jimmy when he got glasses, calling him “four eyes.”
• make up?(= resolve a problem in a relationship)
• Karen and Jennifer made up after the big fight they had last week.

COMMUNICATION

• make a phone call
• Please excuse me – I need to make a phone call.
• make a joke
• He made a joke, but it wasn’t very funny and no one laughed.
• make a point
• Dana made some good points during the meeting; I think we should consider her ideas.
• make a bet
• I made a bet with Peter to see who could do more push-ups.
• make a complaint
• We made a complaint with our internet provider about their terrible service, but we still haven’t heard back from them.
• make a confession
• I need to make a confession: I was the one who ate the last piece of cake.
• make a speech
• The company president made a speech about ethics in the workplace.
• make a suggestion
• Can I make a suggestion? I think you should cut your hair shorter – it’d look great on you!
• make a prediction
• It’s difficult to make any predictions about the future of the economy.
• make an excuse
• When I asked him if he’d finished the work, he started making excuses about how he was too busy.
• make a promise
• I made a promise to help her whenever she needs it.
• (you can also say, “I promised to help her whenever she needs it.”)
• make a fuss?(= demonstrate annoyance)
• Stop making a fuss – he’s only late a couple minutes. I’m sure he’ll be here soon.
• make an observation
• I’d like to make an observation about our business plan – it’s not set in stone, so we can be flexible.
• make a comment
• The teacher made a few critical comments on my essay.

EXCEPTION:?Don’t say “make a question.” The correct phrase is “ask a question.”

PLANS & PROGRESS

• make plans
• We’re making plans to travel to Australia next year.
• make a decision/choice
• I’ve made my decision – I’m going to go to New York University, not Boston University.
• make a mistake
• You made a few mistakes in your calculations – the correct total is €2345, not €3462.
• make progress
• My students are making good progress. Their spoken English is improving a lot.
• make an attempt / effort?(= try)
• I’m making an effort to stop smoking this year.
• make up your mind?(= decide)
• Should I buy a desktop or a laptop computer? I can’t make up my mind.
• make a discovery
• Scientists have made an important discovery in the area of genetics.
• make a list
• I’m making a list of everything we need for the wedding: invitations, decorations, a cake, a band, the dress…
• make sure?(= confirm)
• Can you make sure we have enough copies of the report for everybody at the meeting?
• make a difference
• Getting eight hours of sleep makes a big difference in my day. I have more energy!
• make an exception
• Normally the teacher doesn’t accept late homework, but she made an exception for me because my backpack was stolen with my homework inside it.