Confusable phrases: word combinations with the verbs do and make

—    Hello, boys and girls! My name is Martin Green.

—   And my name is James Wilson. We are glad to welcome you on our lesson!

—   Today we invited our friend Lee to the lesson. He is from China.

—   Yesterday the three of us went to the grocery store.

—   We were buying the products when we heard the conversation between a man and his son.

—   Let’s listen to it.

—   Dad, we’ve bought a flour! Now we can do a cake for mommy.

—   Yes, Kyle. I’m sure she’ll like it but promise to make your homework after that.

—   I promise, daddy! I need to make only Math and English.

—   That’s great! If you make them quickly, we’ll watch any movie you want.

—   Hooray! Daddy, you are the best!

—   We were shocked to hear that! They made 4 mistakes in their conversation.

—   Of course, we decided not to tell them about that, because it’s very rude.

—   But we would like to tell you about this rule.

Today in the lesson we will:

·        talk about confusable phrases: word combinations with the verbs “do” and “make”;

And

·        put the knowledge into a practice.

Pupils often confuse the verbs “do” and “make”. They have the same translation, but let’s talk about the difference between these two verbs.

The verb “to do”.

We use it for actions, responsibilities, and repetitive tasks.

The verb “to make”.

We use it for creating something new or for actions you choose to do.

“Do” generally refers to the actions itself.

“Make” usually refers to the result.

Let’s compare two examples:

Lucy and Mike do their homework every day.

(In this sentence we described the action itself).

My granny makes breakfast for me every day. Her omelets are so delicious.

(In this sentence we can see the result of the action: an omelet).

Now let’s discuss closely when we can use the verb “do”.

One. We use “do” when we talk about housework.

For instance:

·        To do the housework;

·        To do the dishes;

·        To do the laundry;

·        To do the cleaning;

·        To do the ironing;

·        To do the cooking;

·        To do the shopping.

·        The exception is “to make the bed”.

Two. We can use the verb “do” when we talk about work, jobs or study.

For instance:

·        To do work;

·        To do homework;

·        To do a subject (for example: Math, History, English, etc.);

·        To do business;

·        To do a project;

·        To do a translation;

·        To do a good or terrible job;

·        To do a course;

·        To do a report.

Three. “Do” can be used to talk about activities in general without being specific.

For instance:

·        To do something;

·        To do anything;

·        To do nothing;

·        To do everything;

·        To do things.

Four. We can use “do” to talk about general good or bad actions.

For instance:

·        To do well;

·        To do badly;

·        To do one’s best;

·        To do somebody good (harm, wrong);

·        To do the right thing.

Five. We sometimes use “do” to replace the other verb when its meaning is clear or obvious. We can see this mostly in informal speech.

For instance:

·        To do the room (means “to clean it”);

·        To do the floor (means “to wash it”);

·        To do the lawns (means “to mow them”).

Six. The verb “do” is also used when we talk about taking care of our body.

For instance:

·        To do morning exercises;

·        To do one’s hair;

·        To do one’s teeth;

·        To do one’s nails.

Now you know when we can use the verb “to do”.

Let’s discuss when we can use the verb “to make”.

One. We can use “make” when we talk about food, drinks and meals.

For instance:

·        To make breakfast (lunch, dinner);

·        To make a salad;

·        To make a cup of coffee;

·        To make a reservation;

·        To make a sandwich;

·        To make a pizza.

Two. “Make” can be used to talk about money.

For instance:

·        To make money;

·        To make a profit;

·        To make a fortune.

Three. We use “make” to talk about relationships.

For instance:

·        To make friends;

·        To make enemies;

·        To make fun of someone.

Four. “Make” is used to talk about communications or certain sounds.

For instance:

·        To make a confession;

·        To make a speech;

·        To make a joke;

·        To make a phone call;

·        To make a point;

·        To make a complaint;

·        To make a suggestion;

·        To make an excuse;

·        To make a prediction;

·        To make a promise;

·        To make a noise;

·        To make a comment.

Five. We use “make” to talk about plans, progress and decisions.

For instance:

·        To make a list;

·        To make a mistake;

·        To make a decision;

·        To make a choice;

·        To make plans;

·        To make up your mind (means “to decide”);

·        To make a law;

·        To make progress;

·        To make a discovery;

·        To make sure (means “to confirm”);

·        To make difference;

·        To make an exception;

·        To make an effort (means “to try”).

Six. The verb “make” is also used to talk about the origin of a product or the materials that we use to make something.

For instance:

·        The earrings are made of gold.

·        The juice is made from oranges.

·        The computer was made in Germany.

Now you know when we can use the verb “to make”.

Let’s practise a little bit.

Insert to do or to make.

Check yourselves.

To make a decision;

To do a flat;

To do housework;

To make a mistake;

To make friends;

To do the ironing;

To make a noise;

To make a pie;

To do well;

To make a choice;

To do the cooking;

To do the cleaning;

 To make notes;

 To do your best;

 To make dinner;

 To make an effort;

 To do homework;

 To do a project;

 To make a bed;

 To make a progress.

Now look at the pictures and name them using the word combinations from the previous exercise.

Check yourselves.

One. To make a bed.

Two. To do the ironing.

Three. To make dinner.

Four. To make a mistake.

Five. To do the cleaning.

Six. To make notes.

Look at the following pictures.

Check yourselves.

Seven. To do homework.

Eight. To do the cooking.

Nine. To make a noise.

Ten. To make friends.

Eleven. To make an effort.

Twelve. To make a pie.

Listen to the sentences and say if they are correct or incorrect. Write the right variant if the sentence is incorrect.

One. Emma wanted to make a confession, but she was interrupted.

Two. My mum’s advice helped me to do a good decision instead of a bad one.

Three. Marry, let’s make a delicious cake with sour cream and sugar.

Four. Bradley, I will make my best to help you to solve your problem tomorrow!

Five. Tyler made four mistakes in his dictation yesterday.

Let’s check.

The 1st sentence is correct.

The 2nd is incorrect.

The right variant is:

My mum’s advice helped me to make a good decision instead of a bad one.

The 3rd sentence is correct.

The 4th is incorrect.

The right variant is:

Bradley, I will do my best to help you to solve your problem tomorrow!

The 5th is correct.

The following sentences.

Six. You have to make a project, or you’ll get a bad mark tomorrow.

Seven. Bobby, make your bed right now!

Eight. It’s always easy for me to make new friends.

Nine. Jessica, I like the way you make your hair.

Ten. Jennifer, could you, please, make breakfast for your little sister?

Let’s check.

The 6th sentence is incorrect.

The right variant is:

You have to do a project, or you’ll get a bad mark tomorrow.

The 7th is correct.

The 8th is correct.

The 9th is incorrect.

The right variant is:

Jessica, I like the way you do your hair.

The last is correct.

—   Now let’s return to the conversation between a man and his son.

—   James, can I correct all the mistakes?

—   Sure, Lee! Go ahead.

—   Great! If that man and his son had known the rule, their conversation would have looked like this.

—   Dad, we’ve bought a flour! Now we can make a cake for mommy.

—   Yes, Kyle. I’m sure she’ll like it but promise to do your homework after that.

—   I promise, daddy! I need to do only Math and English.

—   That’s great! If you do them quickly, we’ll watch any movie you want.

—   Hooray! Daddy, you are the best!

—   Oh, Lee, you’ve done a good job!

—   Thank you. Soon I will be as smart as you!

—   That’s all for today, our dear friends.

—   We are sure that now you won’t confuse the word combinations with the verbs “do” and “make”.

—   We hope the lesson was interesting for you.

—   See you soon, boys and girls.