Make or Do?

Look at the examples, decide the rules and do the exercises. The answers are below.

Can you do the shopping?                              I want time to do some reading.

Make a copy of this letter.                              Once my dad and I made a boat.

Dad makes wonderful omelettes.                    Shall I make a cake?

Do something!                                              She’s always making crazy plans.

Could you do the ironing?                              He did something really funny.

He likes doing nothing.                                  Time to do some work.

I love making model aeroplanes.                    We did a lot of walking.

I must do the accounts                                  What shall we do now?

1)    Do we use do or make ...

1. to talk about work?
2. to talk about building and creating things
3. when we don’t indicate exactly the activity
4. before determiner +ing form, for longer or repeated activities e.g. jobs and hobbies?

Learn these fixed expressions.

do:  good, harm, business, one’s best, (someone) a favour, one’s hair, one’s duty, 100kph/mph

make: an attempt, an effort, an offer, an excuse, a suggestion, a decision, an exception, enquiries, a phone call, a mistake, a fuss, a noise, arrangements, a journey, progress, money,  a profit, a fortune, love, a bed a fire, war, peace

2)    Complete these sentences.

Source : How English Works by  Michael Swan, published O.U.P.

1)

1. do
2. make
3. do 
4. do 

2)

1. He's doing the shopping.
2. She's doing the ironing.
3. She's doing her accounts.
4. He's doing a project.
5. He's forgotten to make the bed.
6. He's doing a sum / doing a calculation / doing some maths.
7. He's going to make a cake.
8. They're making a fire.
9. She's forgotten to do her hair.
10. This car will do 140mph.
11. Somebody's done the dishes.
12. I 'm just going to make a phone call.

Links

Pages to print/download

• Make or Do Exercise 1
• Make or Do Exercise 2
• Make or Do Exercise 3
• Make or Do Exercise 4