Make vs D

Make 

Do 

We use make when we talk about creating something.

Julia made a delicious cake for her family.

My friend is a fashion designer. She makes nice clothes.

Can you make me a coffee?

We use do when we talk about general activities, duties, jobs and leisure activities.

John did his homework yesterday.

My friend is very fit. He does a lot of exercise.

We often use do with something, anything, nothing and everything:

I didn’t do anything yesterday.

We are going to do something special for her birthday.

THERE ARE MANY SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS WITH `MAKE’ AND `DO’

make an appointment/arrangement/plan:

She made an appointment to see the doctor

at 3pm.

make the bed:

Jack needs to hire a cleaner. He doesn’t even

have time to make his bed.

make a change:

I‘ve made some changes to the document.

make a choice/decision:

Which phone are you going to buy? You

need to make a choice!

make a difference:

It doesn’t make any difference.

make friends:

A party is a good opportunity to make

friends.

make a joke:

He was very serious at first. But then he

made a few jokes.

make a mistake:

She made a lot of mistakes in her

homework.

make money/a fortune:

Joe is very rich. He makes a lot of money.

make a phone call:

Can I use your phone? I need to make a

phone call.

do business:

Jim does business with important companies.

do a course:

I want to do a course in computing.

do an exam:

I have four exams to do tomorrow!

do your hair/nails/make-up:

Kate is busy in the bathroom. She is

doing her hair. 

do a job:

What kind of job would you like to do?

do the laundry/washing:

I don’t have any clean clothes. I need to do the laundry. 

do paperwork:

Paul is an accountant. He does a lot of

paperwork in his job.

do research:

I‘m doing some research for my school

project.

do well/badly:

He did well in all his exams.

do work:

I have a lot of work to do this week.