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Make or do? – that is the question! These two short words are famous for confusing learners
of English. Most errors appear where there are differences in how and when ‘make’ and ‘do’
are used in English vs. your native language. Let’s look at some basic theory to understand
the general meaning of ‘make’ vs. ‘do’ in English.
Made can be used to indicate the material of a product. For example, we can say that a spoon
is ‘made of steel’. In this case, we would say made, as in the past tense of make.
The creation has already taken place and now the spoon is made of steel.
How to use DO
The verb ‘do’ is used when we talk about tasks, duties, obligations and routine work. It
refers to the process of carrying out these actions. This verb is similar to the formal
words perform or execute (as in: execute a command). For example: ‘I did my
homework yesterday evening.’ (completed task).
Another use of the verb do is to replace a different verb in the context of a clear or
straightforward result. For example: ‘Do the dishes’ (vs. wash the dishes). ‘Do my hair’
means cut, dye, style or perform another similar action on my hair. The word ‘do’ can also be
used for recreational and individual sports, such as martial arts. For example: ‘Do karate
twice a week’ (take part in this sporting activity, perhaps by attending a class).
Native speakers often use ‘do’ in the way described above. If you want
your English to sound more natural, then you should learn how to use ‘do’
as a substitute for other verbs. Read on to find more examples of this!
Remember that ‘do’ can be used as an auxiliary verb in questions and for added emphasis. In
these contexts, it is not used to mean ‘performing an action’.
Do in questions: In ‘Do you like music?’ the word ‘do’ is just used to indicate a question.
‘You like music.’ would be a fact. Learners often make the mistake of leaving out the ‘do’ in
English questions because in their own language rising intonation is enough. Only in informal
English is this possible where the context is 100% clear. For example, just: ‘Coffee?’ (when
you are about to pour a cup and you are asking for your friend’s permission).
Do for emphasis: In ‘Lucy thinks I don’t love her, but I do. I really do!’ the use of ‘do’
shows the contradiction between what Lucy thinks and what the speaker feels.
In summary, ‘do’ usually refers to the process and ‘make’ refers to the result or creative
aspect of the process. For example, you would do some cooking (process), but you
would make dinner (result).
COMMUNICATION
Make a demand (= Ask for something in an authoritative manner)
‘Several bank staff are being held hostage and the robbers are now making demands.’
Make an observation (= Give your view on a topic, state what you have noticed)
‘Following our exam results, the teacher made several observations about our lack of
progress!’
Make spaghetti (= Cook spaghetti, could also mean to make it from raw ingredients)
‘The Italians make the world’s most fantastic fresh spaghetti!’ (Make from scratch)
‘I’m making spaghetti for dinner. Would you like some?’ (Cooking)
When learning collocations and phrasal verbs, write down all the possible
prepositions and particles they can take. For example, if you know that the
correct form is ‘to make amends FOR something’, then you will not make
mistakes like ‘amends to’ or ‘amends on’. Errors often appear where the
English usage is different from that in your native language.
Make love (= Have sexual intercourse with someone you care about)
‘Police in Thailand have arrested two British tourists for making love on the beach!’
NOTE: It is a common mistake to say ‘make sex’. The correct form is ‘have sex’ or ‘make
love’.
Make a fool of yourself (= Embarrass yourself by saying or doing the wrong thing)
‘The goalkeeper made a fool of himself by throwing the ball into his own net!’
Make an example of (= Punish one person to discourage others from doing the same)
‘Jon was late for school again so the teacher decided to make an example of him.’
Make the best/most of (= Take advantage, seize the opportunity, tolerate)
‘Ronaldo made the most of the defender’s mistake and rounded the goalkeeper to
score.’
‘Tomorrow’s weather isn’t great for our walk, but we’ll just have to make the most of
it.’
DAILY ROUTINE
Make a wish (= Will something to happen, hope something will come true)
‘When you blow out the candles on your birthday cake, don’t forget to make a wish!’’
Watch out for collocations that allow the use of ‘make’ AND ‘do’. These
are rare, but you should learn them. For example, ‘Do a presentation’
(conduct/perform) vs. ‘Make a presentation’ (same meaning, or emphasises
its creation) or ‘make the bed’ (Standard English) vs. ‘do the bed’
(colloquial).
NOTE: We can also use ‘make’ to mean: get into or deserve a place in. For example,
‘John made the first team’ (won a place in the team through his performance) or ‘The car
accident made the headlines’ (was included in the news). John did not create or form the
team, nor did the car accident write the headlines.
Collocations with DO
DAILY ROUTINE
The word ‘do’ can be used informally as a noun in British English when
referring to a social event or party. For example, ‘Are you going to Mike’s
birthday do next Saturday?’ or ‘There’s a do on at the local (pub) this
weekend, if you fancy it.’
CRIMINAL
NOTE: Football, rugby, cricket, basketball, tennis, etc. usually to take ‘play’ and not ‘do’.
In Spanish, both ‘make’ and ‘do’ can be translated as the single word
‘HACER’. Does your native language have a distinction between ‘make’
and ‘do’? Perhaps these concepts are expressed in a different way than in
English.
Do work (= Carry out a job or task)
‘Can you please stop distracting me? I really need to do some work this afternoon!’
Do it to the max (= Put maximum effort into something, enjoy to the full)
‘If you only go clubbing once a year, then you might as well do it to the max!’
MAKE UP
‘If you don’t know the answer, then just make one up!’
‘I really believed my son’s story about the broken window, but he had just made it up.’
‘If you pay your share of the bill, then I will make up the difference.’
‘I was off work with a cold last week so now I’m making up the time by staying late.’
‘Sorry I didn’t get to your birthday! I promise I’ll make it up to you next time I’m in town.’
‘If I make a mistake a work, then I always try to make up for it after.’
f) Put on cosmetics
‘June liked to make herself up before going to the theatre.’
‘My girlfriend won’t leave the house without putting her makeup on!’ (Noun)
MAKE OUT
‘The young couple were making out in the car when the police arrived.’
MAKE OF
‘I’m not sure what to make of this!’ (I don’t know what to conclude, don’t understand it)
‘What do you make of this student’s poor attendance?’ (What is your opinion?)
MAKE OFF
‘We caught a brief glimpse of the tiger before it made off into the dark jungle.’
‘The burglar made off with a flat screen TV and some cash.’
MAKE INTO
MAKE OVER
a) Transfer ownership
‘On the TV dating show, the 3 contestants were given a free makeover.’ (Noun)
‘Our house is in a bad condition, but we plan to make it over.’ (USA)
MAKE FOR
‘If you make for the valley, then you’ll be back at the campsite by nightfall.’
‘The frightened kitten made for the door, but it was closed.’
DO UP
‘We’ve bought a new house, but need to do it up before we can move in.
‘They really should do up the local school! It has been neglected for years.’
If you are buying a house in the UK, you can save a lot of money by
choosing a “doer-upper”. This is a slang term for a house that you need to
‘do up’ or renovate. Properties like this are usually much cheaper, but
require some hard work and investment.
b) Fasten, close
‘It’s getting cold. Do up your coat!’
‘We’re not driving anywhere until you do your seatbelt up!’
DO OUT
‘They’ve had their kitchen done out in green tiles and marble worktops.’
DO OUT OF
DO WITH
DO WITHOUT
‘I’ve had my dog Sammy for 10 years. Now I just can’t do without him!’
‘If you don’t want to eat what I’ve cooked, then you can just do without!’ (Not eat anything)
DO OVER
a) Repeat, do again
b) Beat up
‘The thief claims that the police did him over in his cell.’
DO DOWN
Belittle, criticise, put down
‘I don’t think my boss likes me. He’s always trying to do me down!’
Note: ‘Put down’ is more common in British English.
DO AWAY WITH
‘They are doing away with diesel cars. In the future, no one will manufacture them.’
‘The UK government has voted to do away with fox hunting.’
2. HIT THE BOOKS: Textbooks like the Phrasal Verbs in Use series (Cambridge) and
Practical English Usage (M. Swan) provide clear explanations and exercises on
phrasal verbs and collocations. These are good books to have in your personal English
library.
3. LEARN OVER TIME: Be selective with your choice of collocations and phrasal
verbs. Only learn expressions that you are likely to use regularly when speaking,
reading and writing in English. Learn a few new combinations each week and build
your vocabulary over time for the best results.
4. ASK A NATIVE: Not sure whether to use ‘make’ or ‘do’? Not clear on the meaning
of a collocation or phrasal verb? Try asking a native speaker for assistance! This could
be your English teacher, a friend or a member of an ESL group on Facebook.
BBC Learning English has some basic explanations, followed by a multiple choice list of
short exercises to help you test your understanding of make vs. do.
Cambridge English has an interesting interactive set of exercises. These ask you to select
‘make’ or ‘do’ for each example. The correct answer is then displayed.
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