It can be difficult to know when to use "make" and when to use "do". Here are some tips to help you make the right choice.
We use "make" for more creative activities:
"She makes her own clothes."
"He made a beautiful hat for the wedding."
We also use "make" to describe functions of speech – what we are doing when we speak:
You make
… an offer (I'll pay you $500 for your car)
… an appointment (Can we meet at 9 am?)
… an arrangement (Let's meet at the station.)
… a promise (I'll help you with this photocopying.)
… a threat (If you do that again, I'll tell him.)
… a compromise
… a suggestion
… a promise
… a mistake
… a decision
… a point
… a complaint
… an excuse
There are also some "fixed expressions" with "make":
"They made friends when they were at primary school."
"He made fun of her new hairstyle."
Other expressions are:
… make a fuss
… make a fortune
… make money
… make a profit / a loss
… make a journey
… make an effort
… make progress
… make a mess
… make a telephone call
… make a choice
One expression that uses either "do" or "make" is:
make a deal / do a deal (I'll do it if you help me.)
Using do
We use "do" to refer to jobs, or responsibilties. These are often routine things, which do not involve much creativity or fun:
"I do the shopping once a week."
"He does the gardening every weekend."
"We have to do a lot of work on the house."
You also do:
… your homework
… the housework
… a job
… the paperwork
… an exam
There are some fixed expressions that you can learn which use "do":
"She does a lot of good in the community."
"This chemical can do a lot of harm."
"She always does favours for her colleagues." (Do someone a favour – help someone)
Other expressions are:
… do something well / badly
… do your best
… do something right / wrong
… do the minimum / the maximum
… do damage
10 comments on “How to use "make" and "do" in English”
what does it means "make more"?
as for example ¿Will I make more at this position?
It means "earn more", as in "make more money".
which is correct I want to take the exam or I wand to do exam
It should be "I want to take the exam".
How do you say, make exercise or do exercise?
Claudia de la Torre » Do exercise.
Make a presentation or do a presentation?
Mark » I think probably both are OK, though "make a presentation" sounds more creative and formal than "do a presentation" which could be a more routine sort of thing.
He's making a presentation to the Board (= maybe it's one he's spent a lot of time on)
He's doing a presentation about the new safety regulations (= maybe it's a presentation he does every year)
thank you very much
It´s also probably more common to say "give a presentation" as in he is giving a presentation about global warming…
is it possible to say, "do the mess " ?
No, we say "make a mess".