Do vs Make – What’s the difference?
Do and make are two English verbs which are often confused. There are, however, some important
differences which can help us choose the right verb.
When to use do do a course: I am doing a photography
course.
We use do in collocations associated
with tasks, duties, obligations, ➪ Housework and repetitive tasks:
and routine or repetitive activities. Do usually
refers to the action of performing these activities, do the dishes: I do the dishes every
while make generally refers to the result. evening.
do the laundry: Alice does the
Do is usually used in collocations referring to the laundry when she gets home.
following topics: do the shopping: I’ll do the shopping after
work.
➪ Study and work: do the ironing: Lee is doing the
ironing right now.
do homework: I’ll do my homework after do housework: She does the housework at
dinner. the weekends.
do work: Joe does a lot of work in the BUT make your bed: I make my bed every
evenings. morning.
do business: They are doing business in
Japan. ➪ Good or bad actions:
do an assignment: I did my
assignment last weekend.
do well: He did well in his exams. make a snack: Sid was hungry, so he made
do badly: I did badly in the race. a snack.
do something, nothing, etc.: They did
something exciting last weekend. ➪ Arrangements and decisions:
do your best: He did his best to pass the
exam. make an appointment: I made an
do too much: Rita does too much for her appointment to see the doctor.
children. make plans: We are making plans for the
weekend.
➪ Sports, hobbies, and self-care: make a list: I made a list of the things I
needed to buy.
do exercise: You should do more exercise. make a choice: Ian had to make a difficult
do yoga: Anna does yoga twice a week. choice.
do karate, judo, etc. (martial arts): Bill does make a decision: It took me a long time
karate in the evenings. to make a decision.
do your hair: I have a shower, I do my make a mistake: I made a mistake in the
hair, and I get dressed. exam.
do your nails: Lara did my nails last
weekend. ➪ Speaking, sounds and relationships:
When to use make make a promise: Jess made a promise to
her grandmother.
We often use make when we talk about the make a phone call: I need to make a phone
creation or production of something. Do usually call.
refers to the action, to the process of doing make a joke: He made a joke about his
something, whereas make refers to the result of sister’s new hairstyle.
that action. For example, if you make dinner, the make a suggestion: The teacher made a
result is pasta. good suggestion.
make an excuse: He made an excuse to his
Make is usually used in collocations referring to teacher.
the following topics: make a noise: The neighbours were making
a lot of noise.
➪ Food and drink preparation: make friends: She made friends quickly at
her new school.
make lunch, dinner, etc.: I’ll make
lunch soon. ➪ Money:
make a cake: He made a cake to take to
the party. make a lot of money: He makes more
make coffee: Tim makes coffee for his wife money than I do.
every morning. make $10: Fred makes $10 an hour in his
make a sandwich: I made a sandwich to part-time job.
take to work. make a living: She makes a living as a yoga
teacher.
Exercise 1
Choose ‘do’ or ‘make’ to complete these sentences.
1He has a good job and makes a lot of money.
➪ We usually use make in collocations referring to money.
2Alice did very well in her maths test.
➪ We use do in collocations referring to general good or bad actions.
3Do you want me to make you a coffee?
➪ We use make in collocations referring to the preparation of food and drink.
4Joe hasn’t done his homework yet.
➪ We use do in collocations referring to jobs and work.
5The children are making a lot of noise right now.
➪ We use make in collocations referring to sounds.
6Have you made any plans for the weekend yet?
➪ We use make in collocations referring to plans and arrangements.
7Cara does the dishes every evening.
➪ We use do in collocations referring to housework and repetitive tasks.
8If you want to get fit, you should do more exercise.
➪ We use do in collocations referring to sports and hobbies.
9Luis always makes dinner as soon as he gets home.
➪ We use make in collocations referring to the preparation of food and drink.
10John went into the kitchen to make a phone call.
➪ We use make in collocations referring to communication.
Exercise 2
Choose ‘do’ or ‘make’ for the gaps below.
1Ali _____ karate three times a week.
a. makes
b. doescorrect
➪ We use do in collocations referring to sports and hobbies.
2I haven’t _____ dinner yet because I’m not very hungry.
a. madecorrect
b. done
➪ We use make in collocations referring to the preparation of food and drink.
3Have you _____ your homework yet?
a. made
b. donecorrect
➪ We use do in collocations referring to tasks associated with study and work.
4I always _____ a list before I go shopping.
a. makecorrect
b. do
➪ We use make in collocations where we are creating something with a visible result.
5Peter _____ very well in all his exams last month.
a. made
b. didcorrect
➪ We use do in collocations referring to general good or bad actions.
6Nick is healthy because he _____ a lot of exercise.
a. doescorrect
b. makes
➪ We use do in collocations referring to sports and hobbies.
7Paul _____ a lot of money when he worked in a bar last summer.
a. did
b. madecorrect
➪ We use make in collocations referring to money.
8I don’t _____ any housework during the week.
a. docorrect
b. make
➪ We use do in collocations referring to housework and repetitive tasks.
9The teacher told us to be quiet because we were _____ too much noise.
a. makingcorrect
b. doing
➪ We use make in collocations referring to sounds.
10Are you going to _____ the shopping or shall I?
a. make
b. docorrect
➪ We use do in collocations referring to housework and routine tasks.
Exercise 3
Fill in the gaps with ‘make’ or ‘do’ in the present simple, present continuous, past simple, or present
perfect form. Use the subject or word in brackets where needed
1What did you make (you) for dinner last night?
➪ We use make in collocations referring to the preparation of food and drink because we are creating
something.
➪ We use the past simple when talking about completed events in the past.
2Pat usually does her homework in the kitchen.
➪ We use do in collocations referring to housework and routine tasks.
➪ We use the present simple when referring to habits and things that we do on a regular basis.
3We haven't made (not) any plans for the summer holidays yet.
➪ We use make in collocations referring to arrangements.
➪ We use the present perfect form in sentences with yet to talk about recent actions.
4We didn't do (not) anything exciting last weekend
➪ We use do in collocations referring to general actions.
➪ We use the past simple when talking about completed events and things that happened or didn’t
happen at a particular time in the past.
5I do yoga at the gym three times a week.
➪ We use do in collocations referring to hobbies and sports.
➪ We use the present simple when referring to habits and things that we do on a regular basis.
6Tim made a promise to his girlfriend last night.
➪ We use make with the word promise.
➪ We use the past simple when talking about completed events and things that happened at a particular
time in the past.
7Sally made a lot of mistakes in her history exam yesterday.
➪ We use make in collocations referring to the results of our actions.
➪ We use the past simple when talking about completed events and things that happened at a particular
time in the past.
8I do my hair every morning.
➪ We use do in collocations referring to self-care.
➪ We use the present simple when referring to habits and things that we do on a regular basis.
9I am doing the laundry right now.
➪ We use do in collocations referring to housework.
➪ We use the present continuous to talk about actions which are in progress now.
10Jess made a lot of friends while she was travelling.
➪ We use make in collocations referring to communication and relationships.
➪ We use the past simple when talking about completed events and things that happened at a particular
time in the past.
