Are you confused when you should use “do” and when “make”? Well, it is not a surprise, English language doesn’t have a clear rule to follow at this regard.
The following rule of thumb (with a zillion exceptions) will help you figure it out.
DO
- Use “do” when talking about jobs, works, duties, leisures or tasks that do not produce anything physically tangible. E.g.: “You are doing a great job!”
- It is common to use do when referring to indefinite activities, often together with words like something, what, thing, anything, nothing, everything, etc. E.g.: “We did something beautiful”
- In informal English you can use it to replace a verb when the meaning is obvious. E.g.: “I’m doing the dishes”
MAKE
- Use “make” when talking about building, producing, constructing, creating a physical object. E.g.: “I made a cup of tea”
- To indicate the components that are used to make something or the origin of a product. E.g.: “implants are made of titanium”, and “This car is made in France”
- It's common to use “make” when talking about money. E.g.: “We made a deal”, or “With the price of oil increasing, oil companies are making money”
- Make can also be used to express a feeling or reaction. E.g.: “She made him happy”
Are you going to make this mistake anymore?
Beyond the easy examples above mentioned, you will have to learn by heart which of the two verbs goes in that context. In the end it is a matter of usage and Ludwig is your best friend to get always the right collocation.
This a list of common expressions with “do”, click on any of them to see usage examples on Ludwig
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do your best; do someone’s best
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do your duty; do someone's duty
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do your hair; do someone's hair
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do your job; do someone’s job
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do your makeup; do someone’s makeup
Here it goes a list of common expressions with 'make'
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make him sad; make someone sad
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make your mind up; make someone’s mind up
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make your way; make someone’s way
If you know other expressions with "do" or "make", please write them down in the comments.
