👨🏿‍🌾 🚶🏾 🔥 The difference between do and make in English 🚣 🌪️ 🎥

Anyone who is studying English will know very well that the verbs to do and to make are translated the same way: "do." For beginners who are not interested in a deep understanding of the structure and subtleties of English, this knowledge is usually quite enough, but more advanced enthusiasts are asked a natural question in this situation: "What is the difference between do and make?" In this article, this issue will be considered both from the point of view of the general sense, and from the position of stable expressions.

Verb to do when it comes to work

If the proposal implies an action that must be performed, if it is an obligation or work, the verb to do is used. For instance:

To do (the) homework - do homework.
To do (the) housework - do household chores, housework (cleaning, cooking, washing, ironing, and so on).

The action itself does not have to include the word work - "work". It may well be replaced by a synonym or simply implied:

To do (the) job - perform duties, do something that is necessary, that is part of the duty.

Work can also simply be implied:

To do (the) washing up - wash dishes. Literally: doing washing (dishes), which, in fact, is also work.
To do (the) ironing - iron. Literally: do ironing.
To do (the) clearning - clean, do the cleaning.

These are far from all examples, but they accurately convey the general meaning.

Verb to do for abstract expression

This rule of difference between do and make is much simpler than the previous one. The to do verb should be used if it is necessary to express an unspecific, unknown, or general action. For instance:

To do everything - do everything.
To do nothing - do nothing (in English, double negation means agreement, so you should not write not to do in this case.
To do something - do something.

Any word derived from thing is used with the verb to do.

Persistent phrases with the verb to do

There is a relatively small list of words and phrases that are used only with the verb to do. There is no clear rule of difference between do and make in this case, so it remains either to learn all these phrases, or to derive your own pattern for memorization.

To do badly	It’s bad to cope with something, to fail in something.
To do business	Engage in business, important matters, work.
To do (a) favor / favor	Make a concession or a favor, give way.
To do good	To do something useful, good, good.
To do well	Antonym to do badly; to cope well, to be successful in anything.
To do harm	To do harm, harm.
To do time	To be in prison, to serve time.
To do one's best	Make every effort possible. For example: I'm doing my best - I try to do my best, I give all the best.
To do one's hair	Comb your hair and tidy it up.

This table shows the most stable expressions. If desired, more of them can be found in fiction or journalistic literature. In this case, you don’t have to cram them anymore, because when reading such information is acquired and stored automatically. In addition, the difference between do and make is easily learned only through artistic examples.

Verb to make to express creation, construction, construction

If something is being built, created, invented, made, made by skilled human hands, this “something” needs to be expressed using the verb to make. In the simplest children's textbooks, the difference between the verbs do and make is explained as follows: to do - to work with the head, to make - to do with the hands.

To make a jacket - to make (sew) a jacket / jacket.
To make a boat - make (construct, assemble, construct) a boat.
To make a paper figure - make (fold, assemble) a paper figure.

And many more examples that can be found in the literature.

The verb to make, when you need to talk about cooking

If you need to talk about someone preparing something, you always need to use the verb to make. For instance:

To make some food - cook food.
To make a cup of green tea - brew a mug of green tea.
To make a salad - chop the salad.
To make a cake - bake a cake.

As can be seen from the examples, the verb to make is multifunctional in this area: with its help, it is boiled, fried, baked, cut, brewed ... In a word, they do everything related to cooking. This is another important aspect of the difference between do and make.

Persistent phrases with the verb to make

There are many more than to do, and at first it may seem scary. However, there is a downside - it is easier to trace the pattern.

To make amends	Compensate for something, make amendments to something.
To make arragements	Agree on something.
To make one belive	Make someone believe in something, pretend.
To make a choice	Select.
To make a decission	Make decisions.
To make difference	To differ, to be a difference.
To make an inquiry	Make a request, make inquiries.
To make an excuse	To apologize.
To make a fool of oneself	Make a fool out of someone, make someone stupid.
To make a fortune	Become successful, catch luck by the tail, get hold of wealth.
To make friends	To make friends.
To make a fuss	Make noise.
To make a journey	Take a trip.
To make a mess	Riot.
To make a mistake	Make a mistake.
To make money	Earn.
To make a move	Take a step, move, move.
To make a noise	Same as to make a fuss; make noise.
To make a phone call	Call someone on the phone.
To make a plan	To plan.
To make a point	Express your point of view.
To make a profit	Get income from something.
To make a promise	Give the floor.
To make a remark	Make a comment.
To make a sound	Make any sounds, sound.
To make a speech	To give a speech to the public.
To make a suggestion	To assume.

Again, these are not all examples, but having learned them, you can quite freely and without errors speak English using the verbs do and make. The difference between them is not as complicated as it might seem at first glance. It can easily be learned much faster than other rules, if you independently compose five to ten examples or find them in fiction.

The difference between did and made

Did and made are all the same verbs to do and to make already known to us, but in the past tense. Therefore, the differences between them are described by exactly the same rules as the difference between do and make. The same stable expressions apply to them, and there are no exceptions for this case. The same goes for past and last participles done and made.

The difference between do and make in English