Difference Between Do and Make in English
When to use Do and Make?
“Difference Between Do and Make” is a very popular subject and I wish you liked this video.
When to use Do?
Do is a general word for actions.
We can use do to talk about work or activities in general:
- do a sport.
- do a course.
- do an exam.
- do a job.
- do housework.
- do homework.
- What are you doing this evening? (not What are you making?)
- Shall I open the door? No, it’s OK. I’ll do it.
- Lora’s job is very boring. She does the same thing every day.
- I did a lot of things yesterday.
What do you do? = What’s your job?
To ask what job somebody does, we can say:
‘What do you do?’ ‘I work in a bank.’
When to use Make?
We can use make to mean ‘create’ or ‘produce. For example:
- make coffee.
- make a cake.
- make a mess.
- Make a list.
- make a noise.
- make a mistake.
- She’s making coffee.
- He has made a cake.
- They make umbrellas.
- It was made in China.
Compare do and make
- I did a lot yesterday. I cleaned my room, I wrote some letters and I made a cake.
- A: What do you do in your free time? Sport? Reading? Hobbies?
B: I make clothes. I make dresses and jackets. I also make toys for my children.
Expressions with do
- Do an exam / do a test. (I’m doing my driving test next week.)
- Do a course. (Tom has just done a training course.)
- Do homework. (Our children have to do a lot of homework.)
- Do housework. (I hate doing housework, especially cleaning.)
- Do somebody a favour. (Nora, could you do me a favour?)
- Do an exercise. (I go for a run and do exercises every morning.)
Expressions with make
- Make a mistake. I’m sorry, I made a mistake.
- Make an appointment. I need to make an appointment to see the doctor.
- Make a phone call. Excuse me, I have to make a phone call.
- Make a list. Have you made a shopping list?
- Make a noise. It’s late. Don’t make a noise.
- Make a bed. Sometimes I forget to make my bed in the morning.
Do and make Examples:
- Paper is made from wood.
- What do you do? I’m a teacher.
- Do you know how to make bread?
- I’m hungry. Let’s make some sandwiches.
- What do they make in that factory? Shoes and bags.
- I hate doing housework, especially cleaning.
- Why do you always do the same mistake?
- Have you done your homework? Not yet.
- I’m making some coffee. Would you like some?
- The last time I did an exam was ten years ago.
- Can you do me a favour? It depends what it is.
- How many phone calls did you make yesterday?
- What did you do at the weekend? Did you go away?
- I asked you to clean the bathroom. Have you done it?
- Why are you angry with me? I didn’t do anything wrong.
- What are you doing tomorrow afternoon?’ ‘I’m working.
- When you’ve finished Exercise 1, you can do Exercise 2.
- Let’s make a list of all the things we have to do today.
- Richard didn’t help me. He sat in an armchair and did nothing.
- I need to see the dentist, but I haven’t made an appointment.
- It was a bad mistake. It was the worst mistake I’ve ever made.
- I’m doing a course in photography at the moment. It’s very good.
- There’s something wrong with the car. The engine is making a strange noise.
- Are you doing anything on Friday night? I’m having a birthday party. Would you like to come?