You know the rule, and you freeze on the noun. Homework, a mistake, the bed, a decision: the verb should fall out, and instead you translate it. Do vs make in English is that freeze. Do carries out a task, and it also builds questions and negatives. Make brings a result into existence, or it causes one. The rule gets you most of the way.
Both jobs of do, 50 collocations by theme, the places where the rule breaks, and drills with an answer key are below.
Quick answer: Use do for a task and for questions and negatives. Use make for a result or a cause. Learn make the bed and do your hair as whole phrases. Examples use American English. British differences are marked where the phrase itself changes.
Do has two jobs. Make has one
Make is a main verb. It creates something, or it causes a result. It never helps another verb form a question or a negative.
Do has that helping job, and it is also an ordinary main verb. If you treat every do as “perform,” questions such as Do you live here? stop making sense. The first do in that question does not mean “perform.” It only builds the question.
Do as the helper
The helper forms are do, does, and did. After the helper, the main verb stays in the base form.
Questions:
- Do you work here?
- Does she know the address?
- Did they leave?
Negatives:
- I don’t agree.
- She doesn’t know.
- They didn’t call.
Short answers use the helper alone. Do you cook? Yes, I do. Does he make dinner? No, he doesn’t.
Emphasis uses the same helper, and the main verb is still the base form. I do understand the rule. She did send the file. The helper is stressed in speech. It contradicts a doubt.
Do also stands in for a whole verb phrase, including a phrase built on make. He makes coffee, and I do too. I do too means “I make coffee too.” You do not repeat make. And I make too is not English.
What do you do? is two different jobs in one question. The first do is the helper. The second do is the main verb: what is your work, or what activity are you in the middle of? What do you make? is a different question. It asks what you produce.
Do and make as main verbs
Do and make are both irregular, and English is one of the languages we drill. These are the forms to produce. There is no doed, and there is no maked.
| Person | Present | Past | -ing | Perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | do / make | did / made | am doing / am making | have done / have made |
| you | do / make | did / made | are doing / are making | have done / have made |
| he/she/it | does / makes | did / made | is doing / is making | has done / has made |
| we | do / make | did / made | are doing / are making | have done / have made |
| they | do / make | did / made | are doing / are making | have done / have made |
Singular you and plural you share these forms. The future is will do and will make for every person. The same forms are listed on the English conjugation tables.
Did is only the past. Done is the participle. I did the dishes yesterday. I have done the dishes, so the kitchen is clear. She has did the dishes is not English.
Made does both jobs. She made coffee is the past. She has made coffee is the present perfect. The word made does not change.
After a helper, return to the base form. She doesn’t do the dishes. Does he make dinner? The -s belongs to the helper (doesn’t, does), not to a second does or makes. She doesn’t does and Does he makes are the errors.
Do and make are actions, so the -ing form is ordinary. I am doing the dishes. She is making coffee. Are you doing the shopping? Stative verbs usually refuse that pattern. The contrast is in Stop Saying ‘I Am Having’: Mastering State vs. Action Verbs in English.
Did you do your homework?
Pro tip: Cover the main verb and say only the helper: Do you, Does she, Did they. If a second verb is in the sentence, the first do is the helper, and the second verb stays in the base form.
Do vs make grammar: a task, a result, or a cause
When do is the main verb, the focus is the activity. You carry it out, finish it, or are responsible for it. When make is the main verb, the focus is what exists at the end, or what your action causes.
✓ I have to do my homework tonight.
✗ I have to make my homework tonight.
✓ She made a cake.
✗ She did a cake.
✓ We did some work before lunch.
✗ We made some work before lunch.
Make work for someone means create extra tasks: Don’t make work for the rest of the team. That phrase is not how you say you did the tasks yourself.
A useful question is: am I performing a task, or is something new there when I finish? Homework is a task, so the verb is do. A cake is a new thing, so the verb is make. A decision is not a cake, and English still treats it as a result: make a decision.
Make plus a person
Make also means “cause.” Three patterns cover almost every sentence of this type.
Make + person + adjective. The news made her happy. The delay made him angry.
Make + person + base verb. Do not add to. The joke made me laugh. The teacher made us rewrite the paragraph. The joke made me to laugh is not English, and neither is The joke made me laughing.
Passive: be made to + verb. The to comes back. They made me wait. I was made to wait. I was made wait leaves out to, and that sentence is wrong.
The joke made me laugh.
Lexi is our pup, and she keeps this short. Do is the task family: the work is the point, and at the end you have done the work. Make is the result family: something is there that was not there before, even if you cannot touch it, like a decision or a mess. When the picture fails, as it does with the bed and your hair, say the chunk you have heard, and say it whole.
Pro tip: Take five nouns from your actual week. Write task or result next to each one before you choose do or make. Then say the full sentence out loud.
Where the do vs make rules break
The picture is a starting point. These are the places it fails, or the places both verbs exist and mean different things. The drills later avoid the pairs that allow both.
The chore does not match the picture
Make the bed means arrange the sheets. You are not building a bed. Do the bed is not the standard phrase for that chore.
Please make the bed.
Do your hair means style it. The result is a hairstyle, which looks like a job for make, and the verb is still do. I do my hair after breakfast.
Do the dishes, do the cleaning, and do the ironing are chores. Something looks different when you finish, and English still uses do, because the chore is the point.
The same noun, two verbs, two meanings
Do a test means take it. British English also says sit a test. The class did a test on Friday. Make a test means write the questions. The teacher made a test last night. Take a test and do a test can both describe taking the test. Make a test does not.
Do an impression means imitate someone. She does a good impression of her boss. Make an impression means change how people see you. She made a good impression at the interview.
Do good means help or have a positive effect. A short walk will do you good. Volunteers do a lot of good. Make good on a promise means keep it. She made good on her promise. You will also see an older use, make good, meaning succeed in the world. It is dated. Make good on is the one to learn.
Dinner you cook, and dinner you attend
I’ll make dinner means I will cook it. Informally, I’ll do dinner tonight can mean I’ll take care of the meal. I do the cooking means cooking is my chore in the house. Let’s do dinner and let’s do lunch are informal invitations to meet for that meal, especially in American English, and they do not mean the speaker will cook.
Phrases where both do and make show up
Give a presentation is the phrase that works in American and British English. Do a presentation is common, especially in British English, for delivering one. Make a presentation is also heard for delivering one. If you have heard both, you are not failing the rule. Use give a presentation when you want one safe choice.
Write a report is the clearest phrase for producing the document. Do a report and make a report both appear, often with a slight shift in focus. This guide does not drill either noun, because a single blank would have two honest answers.
Sport, yoga, and a course
Use do with yoga, Pilates, and karate. Use play with tennis and with football. Do tennis is not the usual collocation. Do sport is British English for sport in general. American English says play sports. Do sports is understood in both, and play sports is the safer American phrase.
Do a course is standard in British English and in a lot of international English: He is doing a course in design. American English usually says take a course. Make a course is not the phrase for attending one. The course item is not in the 50, because the American phrase uses take.
You styled your hair, and you arranged the sheets. Which verbs?
Pro tip: Write four pairs on a card and say them today: do your hair / make the bed, do a test / make a test, do an impression / make an impression, I’ll make dinner / let’s do dinner.
Fifty do and make collocations
These 50 are the set. Each one is ordinary English. A note sits on an item only where American and British English use different words, or where a second verb would mean a different sentence. Fixed expressions that are not in this count come after the numbered list, so the count stays at 50.
A few of these chunks are used with no a. Say make progress, make money, make sense, make sure, make room, and make time. Say do homework, do research, do business, and do exercise for the activity in general. Make a progress and do a research add an article English does not want.
Household chores with do
These are chores. The verb is do even when the kitchen looks different at the end.
1. do the dishes. I do the dishes every night.
2. do the laundry. She does the laundry every Saturday. That phrasing is American English. British English often says do the washing for the same chore. Do the laundry is widely understood in both.
3. do the washing-up. He did the washing-up after lunch. That is British English for washing the dishes. American English uses item 1.
4. do the housework. We do the housework on Sundays. Housework is cleaning and chores. Homework is schoolwork. The verbs match, and the nouns do not.
5. do the shopping. We have done the shopping for the week.
6. do the ironing. She is doing the ironing.
7. do the cleaning. They do the cleaning together.
8. do the gardening. He does the gardening on Sundays. Make a garden means create a garden. The weekly chore is do the gardening.
Work, study, and duty with do
9. do homework. She does her homework after dinner. Say do homework when you mean homework in general, and do the homework when you both know which assignment.
10. do research. She does research on sleep. Conduct research and carry out research are the formal versions. The everyday verb is do. Make research is not standard.
11. do business. We do business with that supplier.
12. do your job. She does her job carefully.
13. do a good job. You did a good job on the draft. British English also says you made a good job of the draft. The word of has to be there.
14. do math / do maths. I do math before class. British English: I do maths before class. The verb does not change.
15. do a test. The class did a test on Friday. That means they took it. American English often says take a test. British English also says sit a test. Make a test means the teacher wrote it.
16. do your best. Do your best, and send it today. Do the best you can is the same chunk with the noun expanded.
17. do someone a favor. Could you do me a favor? The British spelling is favour. The modal could sits in front of the base form do. Mastering English Modal Verbs: Could, Should, and Would is the guide to that slot.
Activity and effect with do
18. do exercise. I do some exercise before work. Do an exercise for one movement or one school task, and do exercises for a set of them. In the gym or in a workbook, the verb is do. Make exercise is not standard. Take exercise is an older British phrase. American English more often says get some exercise.
19. do yoga. She does yoga on Fridays. The same pattern fits Pilates and karate. The usual phrases are play tennis and play football. Do tennis is not the usual phrase. For sport in general, British English says do sport, and American English says play sports.
20. do damage. The storm did a lot of damage. Cause damage is also normal English. Make damage is not standard.
21. do harm. Rushing this will do more harm than good. Cause harm is also normal English. The fixed chunk to learn is do more harm than good.
22. do good. A short walk will do you good. Do someone good means have a good effect on that person.
23. do your hair. I do my hair after breakfast. This means style it.
24. do nothing. He did nothing all weekend.
25. do the right thing. She did the right thing and told them.
Food and objects with make
These are things you can point to when you finish.
26. make dinner. I will make dinner tonight. That means cook it. Informally, I’ll do dinner can mean I’ll take care of the meal. Let’s do dinner is the invitation, from the section above, and it is not this collocation.
27. make coffee. He makes coffee every morning.
28. make a cake. She made a cake for the office.
29. make a list. I am making a list of questions.
Decisions and words with make
You cannot hold a decision. English still uses make, because the decision, the promise, or the excuse is the result.
30. make a decision. We need to make a decision today. Make a decision is standard in American and British English. British English also says take a decision, especially in formal writing.
31. make a choice. You made a good choice.
32. make a plan. Let’s make a plan for Monday.
33. make a promise. She has made a promise.
34. make a suggestion. May I make a suggestion?
35. make an excuse. He made an excuse and left early. Make excuses, plural, is the same collocation when there are several, or when it is a habit.
Results with make
36. make a mistake. I made a mistake in the date.
She made a mistake in the email.
37. make progress. The team is making progress. There is no a in this phrase. Make a progress is not English.
38. make an effort. Make an effort to arrive on time.
39. make a difference. It makes a difference if you call.
40. make money. The shop makes money in the summer. There is no a in this phrase.
41. make sense. That makes sense. Do sense is not the phrase.
42. make sure. Make sure you lock the door. Make sure is followed by a clause, or by of plus a noun: Make sure of the facts.
People, noise, and the house with make
43. make an appointment. I made an appointment for Thursday.
44. make a phone call. I need to make a phone call. Make a call is the shorter form of the same chunk.
45. make friends. He made friends in the first week. Friends is plural in the ordinary phrase. Make a friend is possible for one person, and make friends is the chunk to learn.
46. make the bed. Please make the bed before you leave.
47. make a noise. The fridge is making a noise. When you mean an amount, leave out a: Don’t make so much noise.
48. make a mess. The kids made a mess in the kitchen. Do a mess is not standard.
49. make room. Can you make room for one more chair? Make room for is the full chunk, and there is no a.
50. make time. Make time for a walk this week. The full chunk is make time for, and there is no a.
That is the full 50: 1 to 25 with do, 26 to 50 with make.
Spacing beats another pass through the whole list. Our reviews use the SM-2 algorithm to bring a verb form back when it is about to slip. Do the same with the ten collocations you still hesitate on: one full sentence, later, with your own subject.
Pro tip: Close this section. Say items 9, 23, 36, 37, and 46 as five sentences about your own week. Those five catch the swaps that survive a quick reread: homework, hair, mistake, progress, bed.
Fixed expressions outside the 50
These are standard, and they are not extra numbers on the list above. Some contain do and make together. Some use do or make in a meaning the task/result picture does not predict.
Make do (with). It means manage with what you have. The shop was closed, so we made do with what was in the fridge. Both verbs are in the phrase. Make is the main verb. Do is part of the chunk, not the helper.
Make up your mind. It means decide, and stop hovering. Make up your mind before Friday. It sits next to make a decision, and it is a phrasal verb, so it stays off the numbered list.
Make fun of. It means tease or mock. Don’t make fun of his accent.
Do without. It means manage in the absence of something. I can do without another meeting.
That will do. That is enough, or that is acceptable. That will do for now. Here do means “be sufficient.”
How do you do? A formal greeting, more British than American, used when you meet someone for the first time in a formal setting. The usual reply is How do you do? It is not a real question about your health, and Fine, thank you answers How are you? instead.
Pro tip: Put make do, make up your mind, and do without into three sentences about today. Say them once from the page, then once with the page closed.
Close the list and say five chunks as full sentences, with a real subject. Do and make are irregular, and the form has to come out with the noun: she does the shopping, she has made a mistake. Recognizing the pair on a page is the easy half.
Try VerbPal free →Mistakes learners keep producing
The wrong sentence is usually a faithful translation. Spanish hacer, French faire, and several other verbs cover both jobs, so the English split feels arbitrary until the chunk is automatic. Fix the sentence you actually say, not a sentence from a generic list.
✓ I did my homework.
✗ I made my homework.
✓ She made a mistake.
✗ She did a mistake.
✓ Please make the bed.
✗ Please do the bed.
✓ He did the shopping.
✗ He made the shopping.
✓ She doesn’t do the dishes.
✗ She doesn’t does the dishes.
✓ Does he make dinner?
✗ Does he makes dinner?
✓ The joke made me laugh.
✗ The joke made me to laugh.
✓ I was made to wait.
✗ I was made wait.
Three more swaps use a verb that is neither do nor make, which is why the do/make rule cannot save them.
✓ Take a photo.
✗ Make a photo.
✓ Have a party, or throw a party.
✗ Make a party.
✓ Play tennis.
✗ Do tennis.
Articles cause a second error on top of the verb. They are making progress is the sentence. They are making a progress wrongly adds a. She does research is the sentence. She does a research wrongly adds a. Research has no a; say a piece of research or a study for one project.
Pro tip: Copy the eight wrong do/make sentences onto a card with the verb blanked out. Fill them tomorrow morning before you look back at the pairs.
Practice drills and the answer key
Use a form of do or make only. Each item has one answer. Where a pair such as do a test and make a test both exist, the meaning is written into the item, or the item is not here. Favor is the American spelling. Favour is the British spelling of the same word, and it is correct in item 3 if that is the variety you are learning.
Drill 1. Write the base form
Write do or make.
Drill 1: do or make
1. Please ___ the dishes tonight.
2. Don't ___ a mistake in the first line.
3. Can you ___ me a favor?
4. We should ___ a decision before noon.
5. Please ___ the bed before you leave.
6. This note doesn't ___ sense.
7. The delay will ___ more harm than good.
8. Try to ___ your best on the call.
9. I need to ___ a phone call.
10. They want to ___ friends here.
Show Answer Key: Drill 1
1. do. Please do the dishes tonight.
2. make. Don't make a mistake in the first line.
3. do. Can you do me a favor? British spelling: Can you do me a favour?
4. make. We should make a decision before noon.
5. make. Please make the bed before you leave.
6. make. This note doesn't make sense.
7. do. The delay will do more harm than good.
8. do. Try to do your best on the call.
9. make. I need to make a phone call.
10. make. They want to make friends here.
Drill 2. Write the form the sentence needs
Use one of these forms: do, does, did, done, doing, make, makes, made, making. The cue in parentheses forces the tense and the person. Item 19 needs two words, one in each blank.
Drill 2: the matching form
11. She ___ the laundry on Saturdays. (habit, she)
12. I have ___ the shopping. (present perfect, I)
13. He ___ coffee every morning. (habit, he)
14. They are ___ progress. (in progress now)
15. Yesterday we ___ a plan. (past)
16. She is ___ her homework. (in progress now)
17. You ___ a good job yesterday. (past, you)
18. He has ___ a promise. (present perfect, he)
19. ___ she ___ research last year? (past question)
20. She doesn't ___ the ironing. (negative, she)
Show Answer Key: Drill 2
11. does. She does the laundry on Saturdays. British English for the same chore: She does the washing on Saturdays.
12. done. I have done the shopping. Did is the past, not the participle.
13. makes. He makes coffee every morning.
14. making. They are making progress. There is no a before progress.
15. made. Yesterday we made a plan.
16. doing. She is doing her homework.
17. did. You did a good job yesterday.
18. made. He has made a promise. Made is both the past and the participle.
19. Did she do. Did she do research last year? Last year is a finished time, so the past question uses did, and the main verb returns to do. Has she done research last year? is not the match for that time phrase.
20. do. She doesn't do the ironing. After doesn't, the main verb is the base form.
Drill 3. Correct the mistake and keep the tense
Each sentence has one mistake. Correct it, keep the tense, and leave the other words as they are.
Drill 3: correct the mistake
21. I made my homework.
22. She did a mistake.
23. Please do the bed.
24. He made the shopping.
25. The joke made me to laugh.
26. I was made wait outside.
Show Answer Key: Drill 3
21. I did my homework. The sentence is past, so the past of do is did. I have done my homework is a real sentence, and it is a different tense, so it is not the correction asked for here.
22. She made a mistake.
23. Please make the bed.
24. He did the shopping.
25. The joke made me laugh. Active make takes the base verb, with no to.
26. I was made to wait outside. In the passive, to returns.
Pro tip: Any item you missed, say the full correct sentence twice before you close the key. Then say it once more with a detail from your own day swapped in: a real chore, a real mistake, a real bed.
The wider map of English verbs, including why the tense system trips learners, is the English verb guide. Come back to the 50 after that and produce them, ten at a time.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between do and make?
Do carries out a task, activity, or duty. Do, does, and did also build questions, negatives, and emphasis. Make creates something or causes a result. You still learn fixed chunks one by one, including do homework, make a mistake, and make the bed.
Why is the phrase make a mistake?
English treats a mistake as a result you produce. The standard collocation is make a mistake. Do a mistake is not standard English.
Do I say do math or do maths?
Both are standard, in different varieties. American English uses do math. British English uses do maths. The verb is do in both. Make math and make maths are not standard.
Can make form a question the way do can?
No. Make cannot do that job. With a verb such as work or know, questions, negatives, and emphasis use do, does, or did. Do you work here? She doesn't know. I did call. Make is a main verb only. In Did you make dinner? the auxiliary is did and the main verb is make.
Why do we make the bed if we are not creating a bed?
Make the bed is a fixed phrase for arranging the sheets. The picture of creation does not apply, and the phrase is still make the bed. Do the bed is not the standard way to name that chore.
What is the difference between do a test and make a test?
Do a test means take the test, mostly in British English; American English usually says take a test. British English also says sit a test. Make a test means write or create it, which is usually the teacher's job. The noun can stay the same while the verb changes the meaning.