Make or do?

When to use the verbs make or do can often be an area of uncertainty for English language learners.

A general rule of thumb is to use make when you have created something, and use do when you are talking about an activity. There are always exceptions to this and you must just memorize those.

Make in a sentence

Examples

I made a cake last weekend.

Can you make me a cup of coffee, please?

The children made a poster in art class.

After I’ve finished making lunch, I’ll go to the post office.

Do in a sentence

Examples

I did the dishes and now the kitchen is clean.

Have you done your homework?

I do sports every other day.

I’m going to do some shopping tomorrow.

Expressions with make and do

There are many other expressions with make and do:

Make	Do
Make an appointment / plan / arrangements	Do business
Make a decision / choice	Do your hair / makeup / nails
Make the bed	Do the laundry / cleaning / washing
Make friends	Do research
Make a mistake	Do homework
Make a joke	Do sports / yoga / pilates
Make a phone call	Do work / paperwork
Make money / a profit	Do badly / well
Make a difference	Do taxes
Make time / space for something / someone	Do time (in jail or prison)
Make art / poetry	Do a project