Make and Do

MAKE and DO are two verbs that we frequently confuse. Which is the difference between Do and Make? When do we use each one?

Well the basic difference is that we use DO when talking about jobs, tasks or work. For example:

Have you done your homework?

I did some shopping yesterday.

I do a lot of exercise every week.

EXCEPTION: make the bed

We also use DO to replace a verb which the meaning is obvious. For example:

Have you done the dishes yet? (done=washed)

 We use MAKE for speaking about plans or decisions. For example:

They are making plans for the weekend.

You need to make a decision right now.

 We use MAKE with Foods, Drinks and Meals.

She made the breakfast this morning.

I made a cake for her birthday.

We also use MAKE with nouns about speaking or sounds. For example:

Can I make a phone call?

Shh, the baby is sleeping, don't make any noise!

There are plenty of examples, here you have a list about the different collocations with MAKE or DO that we have learnt last weeks. 

Click on the image to see some examples!