How to use "make" and "do" in English

It can be difficult to know when to use "make" and when to use "do". Here are some tips to help you make the right choice.

We use "make" for more creative activities:

"She makes her own clothes."

"He made a beautiful hat for the wedding."

We also use "make" to describe functions of speech - what we are doing when we speak:

You make
… an offer (I'll pay you $500 for your car)
… an appointment (Can we meet at 9 am?)
… an arrangement (Let's meet at the station.)
… a promise (I'll help you with this photocopying.)
… a threat (If you do that again, I'll tell him.)
… a compromise
… a suggestion
… a promise
… a mistake
… a decision
… a point
… a complaint
… an excuse

There are also some "fixed expressions" with "make":

"They made friends when they were at primary school."

"He made fun of her new hairstyle."

Other expressions are:

… make a fuss
… make a fortune
… make money
… make a profit / a loss
… make a journey
… make an effort
… make progress
… make a mess
… make a telephone call
… make a choice

One expression that uses either "do" or "make" is:
make a deal / do a deal (I'll do it if you help me.)

Using do

We use "do" to refer to jobs, or responsibilties. These are often routine things, which do not involve much creativity or fun:

"I do the shopping once a week."

"He does the gardening every weekend."

"We have to do a lot of work on the house."

You also do:
… your homework
… the housework
… a job
… the paperwork
… an exam

There are some fixed expressions that you can learn which use "do":

"She does a lot of good in the community."

"This chemical can do a lot of harm."

"She always does favours for her colleagues." (Do someone a favour - help someone)

Other expressions are:

… do something well / badly
… do your best
… do something right / wrong
… do the minimum / the maximum
… do damage

Like and As

Like and as are often confused in English. They can both be used to talk about how things are similar.

Like is followed by a noun or pronoun. For example, "I'm like my sister", or "Like my sister, I have brown eyes."

As is followed by a subject and verb. For example, "She's a good student, as her brother was before her."

However, in spoken English, like is often used instead of as. "She's a good student, like her brother was before her."

As is used with a preposition, such as, "As in the 1960's, the population explosion will cause some problems."

We can use as in certain expressions, such as "as you know", "as you requested", "as we agreed".

We also use as…..as to give comparisons. For example, "He's as clever as his sister."

Some vs Any

Any and some: are both determiners. They are used to talk about indefinite quantities or numbers, when the exact quantity or number is not important. As a general rule we use some for positive statements, and any for questions and negative statements,

For example:-

I asked the barman if he could get me some sparkling water. I said, "Excuse me, have you got any sparkling water?" Unfortunately they didn't have any.

!Note - You will sometimes see some in questions and any in positive statements. When making an offer, or a request, in order to encourage the person we are speaking to to say "Yes", you can use some in a question:

For example: Would you mind fetching some gummy bears while you're at the shops?

You can also use any in a positive statement if it comes after a word whose meaning is negative or limiting:

For example:
A. She gave me some bad advice.
B. Really? She rarely gives any bad advice.

affect vs effect

Affect and effect are two words that are commonly confused.

affect is usually a verb (action) - effect is usually a noun (thing)

Hint: If it's something you're going to do, use "affect." If it's something you've already done, use "effect."

To affect something or someone.

Meaning: to influence, act upon, or change something or someone.

For example: The noise outside affected my performance.

To have an effect on something or someone

!Note: effect is followed by the preposition on and preceded by an article (an, the)

Meaning: to have an impact on something or someone.

For example: His smile had a strange effect on me.

!Effect can also mean "the end result".

For example: The drug has many adverse side effects.

advice vs advise

Advice is a noun, which means an opinion that someone offers you about what you should do or how you should act in a particular situation.

For example: "I need someone to give me some advice."

Advise is a verb, which means to give information and suggest types of action.

For example: "I advise everybody to be nice to their teacher."

!Often in English the noun form ends in ...ice and the verb form ends in ...ise.

accept vs except

Accept is a verb, which means to agree to take something .

For example: "I always accept good advice."

Except is a preposition or conjunction, which means not including.

For example: "I teach every day except Sunday(s).

because, as, since or for

Word Explanation and Example

because : The reason is very important in the sentence, so "because"comes in the second clause of the sentence. I read this book because I like it.

as : The reason is already known. As we read, we learn.

since : The reason is already known.(more formal than as) Since we were in the computer lab, our English has improved.

for: The reason is given at the end of the sentence. We went to a small restaurant - for we were hungry.