Elementary vocabulary: make or do

Do and make are very similar but we use them differently.

We often use do to speak about everyday jobs: do the shopping; do the dishes.
We use make when we create or produce something: the factory makes furniture; make some tea; make dinner.

Here are some examples of when to use make or do:

Make

make coffee, tea		I always make coffee after breakfast.
make something (produce)		The factory makes furniture; Volvo makes cars.
make a mistake		I made a mistake. I’m sorry.
make a promise		You made me a promise. Please keep it!
make a decision		Managers have to make hard decisions sometimes.
make a telephone call		Excuse me, I have to make a telephone call.
make a profit		Microsoft made a big profit last year.
make a mess		The children made a mess in the kitchen.
make progress		The students are making good progress with their English.

Do

do something		What are you doing? I’m not doing anything.
do an exam		I did five exams and passed all of them.
do homework (from school)		School kids have to do a lot of homework.
do housework		I always do the housework at weekends.
do the shopping		I hate doing the shopping in supermarkets.
do the dishes		Who’s going to do the dishes after dinner?
do the ironing		Her husband never does the ironing.
do an exercise		I did all the exercises in my grammar book.
do business		Our company does a lot of business in Asia.

Practise make vs. do in an exercise >>