Do
When we talk about activity without saying what it is, we use do:
"What are you
doing?"
"What do you want to
do tonight?"
Do is usually the correct word when we are talking about work:
"Have you organized the new course yet?"
— "No, I still have to do that."
To talk about jobs in the home you can use such phrases as wash the dishes, clean the oven, etc., but in conversation the verb do is often used instead:
"I'll
do the dishes."
"Henry's mother still
does his laundry."
"I have to
do the ironing."
Do is often used with nouns ending in -ing: do the shopping, do the cleaning, do the hoovering, do the ironing, etc.
Make
Make often expresses the idea of creation or construction:
"Georgie
made me a lovely ceramic vase for my birthday."
"The shed? Yes, Paul
made it himself!"
The verb make is used especially in the phrase make the beds and when you are talking about preparing or cooking food:
"It's your turn to make breakfast."
"I think I'll make a lasagne for dinner."
Apart from the above, there are no clear rules when to use do and when to use make. It's a good idea to check in the dictionary when you're not sure and learn the following expressions:
do
|
make |
|---|
| do a favour
do homework
do business do housework
do the washing-up
do the shopping
do the cooking do one's best
do one's duty do military service
do good
do a good turn |
make a mistake
make a journey make a bed
make a cake
make bread make arrangements
make a suggestion
make a decision
make an excuse
make a model plane
make a phone call
make an offer
make a noise
make the most of...
make money
make love/war/peace |
Now try the exercise on the next page.
Dagmar Taylor
English für Germans