Make / Do
Creating versus performing
| MAKE | DO |
|---|---|
Make means to create or arrange something |
Do means to perform or execute a job or plan. |
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Make
Do
He 
She 
He
MAKE — Additional Meanings
| VARIANT MEANING | EXAMPLES |
|---|---|
ERROR (idiom) |
I made a mistake. |
GIVE V. |
He made a good speech. |
PREPARE v. |
She made dinner. |
ARRANGE, PUT TOGETHER v. |
He is making travel plans (an itinerary). |
EARN v. |
I'm trying to make a living. |
BE LOGICAL (idiom) |
That doesn't make sense. |
DO GOOD DEEDS (idiom) |
He wants to make a difference. |
MOVE FORWARD, IMPROVE (idiom) |
I'm making progress. |
TELL, GIVE, THINK UP (idiom) |
He made an excuse for being late. |
DECIDE, FINALIZE (idiom) |
Make up your mind! |
IMPRESS FAVORABLLY (idiom) |
He made an impression on us. |
RECONCILED, GET BACK TOGETHER (idiom) |
Bill and his brother made up. |
MANAGE, GET BY (idiom) |
We'll have to make do until Friday. |
APPLY COSMETICS (idiom) |
She is making up her face. |
SELECT WELL (idiom) |
Did you make a good choice. |
SUCCEED (idiom) |
We made out well in the stock market. |
COMPLETE LATE (idiom) |
I made up missing assignments. |
STEAL (idiom) |
The burglar made off with my television. |
DO — Additional Meanings
| VARIANT MEANING | EXAMPLES |
|---|---|
GREETING (idiom) |
How do you do? |
OCCUPATION v. |
What do you do? |
GREETING (idiom) |
How are you doing? |
TRIES (idiom) |
He always does his best. (tries) |
STYLE v. |
Are you going to do your hair? |
MANAGE, SURVIVE, GET BY (idiom) |
Can you do without cigarettes. |
PERFORM CHARITABLE WORK (idiom) |
Do a good turn each day. |
REPEAT(idiom) |
I had to do it all over. |
DINE, EAT |
Let's do lunch sometime? |
Make and Do - Causative
| MAKE | DO |
|---|---|
CAUSATIVE – To force someone or something to do something |
CAUSATIVE – To cause something to happen |
He made the children clean their rooms. |
He did me a favor. |
She made me laugh with her joke. |
She did me wrong! |
We made them try. |
It will do you no wrong. (cause) |
They made him die. |
They did him in. (injure, cheat or swindle) |
Common Mistakes
| ERROR | FIX |
|---|---|
I made my best for my guest. |
I did my best for my guests. |
He made his examinations in June. |
He took his examinations in June. |
I did a plane reservation for my trip to Brazil. |
I made an plane reservation for my trip to Brazil.
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Practice
Shoe Selection
- Select the word from each menu that best completes the sentence.
- Compare your response to the answer by clicking the "check" button to the right.