Make and Do Collocations

The Great Make vs Do Confusion (Sorted)

Make and Do are the most confusing verb pair in English. Even native speakers mess this up sometimes. The secret? Learn the collocations (word partnerships) and stop trying to translate from your language!

The Basic Logic:

MAKE = creating, producing, constructing something

DO = performing, completing, carrying out activities

But honestly, just memorize the common ones!

MAKE Collocations (Creating & Producing)

Category	Make + Noun	Example
Food & Drink	make breakfast/lunch/dinner	"I'll make dinner tonight."
Food & Drink	make coffee/tea	"Can you make some tea?"
Communication	make a phone call	"I need to make a quick call."
Communication	make a speech	"The CEO will make a speech."
Decisions	make a decision	"We need to make a decision."
Decisions	make a choice	"You have to make a choice."
Money	make money	"How do you make money?"
Money	make a profit	"The company made a profit."
Sounds	make noise	"Don't make so much noise!"
Plans	make plans	"Let's make plans for tonight."

DO Collocations (Activities & Tasks)

Category	Do + Noun	Example
Housework	do the washing/cleaning	"I need to do the washing."
Housework	do the dishes	"Can you do the dishes?"
Work/Study	do homework	"I have to do my homework."
Work/Study	do research	"She's doing research on cancer."
Work/Study	do a job	"He does a good job."
Exercise	do exercise	"I do exercise every morning."
Exercise	do yoga/pilates	"She does yoga twice a week."
Business	do business	"We do business with China."
Favors	do someone a favor	"Can you do me a favor?"
Damage	do damage	"The storm did a lot of damage."

Tricky Ones (The Ones That Catch Everyone)

Make vs Do - The Confusing Pairs:

Make the bed (arrange the sheets) vs Do the laundry (wash clothes)
Make an effort (try hard) vs Do your best (try as hard as possible)
Make a mistake (create an error) vs Do something wrong (perform incorrectly)
Make progress (improve) vs Do well (perform successfully)

Fixed Expressions (Just Memorize These)

MAKE expressions:

Make sense - "This doesn't make sense."
Make sure - "Make sure you lock the door."
Make time - "I'll make time for you."
Make friends - "It's easy to make friends here."
Make fun of - "Don't make fun of him."

DO expressions:

Do good/harm - "Exercise does you good."
Do without - "I can do without coffee."
Do your hair - "I need to do my hair."
Do the shopping - "I'll do the shopping later."
Do nothing - "I did nothing all day."

Practice Exercises (Make or Do?)

Exercise 1: Choose Make or Do

1. I need to a phone call.

2. Can you the dishes?

3. She wants to friends.

4. I have to my homework.

5. Let's dinner together.

Exercise 2: Complete the Collocations

1. sure you bring your passport.

2. I need to some research.

3. Can you some coffee?

4. She does every morning.

5. We need to a decision.

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Brilliant! Now you can make the right choice and do the right thing!