Make or Do?

Do we make a mistake or do a mistake? Sometimes it’s hard to remember which verb to use. ‘Make’ and ‘do’ are two verbs that are commonly misused. Here’s some help.

1: We use ‘make’ when we create or construct something. For example:

• She made a cake.
• I’ve made us some coffee.
• Did you really make those trousers?

2: We use ‘do’ for general activities. In this case, ‘do’ is often used with ‘something’, ‘nothing’, ‘anything’ or ‘everything’:

• What did you do at the weekend?
• I didn’t do anything yesterday.
• She’s fed up with doing everything herself. She needs some help.
• Are you doing anything interesting during the holidays?

NOTE: ‘What do you do?’ means ‘what’s your job?’

Here are some ‘make’ and ‘do’ verb phrases to keep in mind!

If you know more ‘make’ and ‘do’ verb phrases, please leave comment below this post.

Discussion Questions

• What housework do you usually do? What have you done today?
• Who does the most housework in your family?
• Do you argue about housework in your family?
• What housework do you hate doing? What don’t you mind doing?
• Is there any housework you like doing?

Vocabulary activity. Gap fill.