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Shall We Do It Or Make It?

Do and make are two of the most 1._ verbs in English and also often commonly confused by non-native speakers. Firstly, there are 2._ fixed expressions with make or do. Some of them are easily translated into Croatian and don’t present problems to non-native speakers, for example make plans (praviti planove) or do a 3._ (učiniti uslugu). Others are less obvious, for instance do homework (napisati domaću zadaću) or make money (zaraditi novac) and these are best learnt by 4._. Here are some useful tips for correctly using do and make in various situations.

When to use DO

We use do when we talk about doing things in general. So, we say: “Let’s do something tonight” or “There is nothing to do around here”. We also use it to talk about our daily tasks or 5._, for example: “I have to do some housework” or “I need to do my English homework”. It is also typically used with housework activities such as do the 6._ (izglačati rublje) and do the 7.__ (oprati suđe). Finally, we use do for activities that end in –ing: “I need to do some reading before the exam”, “I’m going to do some gardening this afternoon.” Or “The fridge is empty. We need to do some shopping”.

When to use MAKE

Make is slightly less general, and is normally used for an activity that results in something 8._. So, you make food/ breakfast/ a cup of coffee/ a mess/ the bed/ a dress. But you can also use it if you want to write or create something. In this case you will say: “My lawyer told me to make a will” or “I made a list of all the things we may need”. But most often make means to 9._:

make a phone call/ a decision/ a mistake/ a speech/ progress/ a suggestion.

Our lives would be easier if we could just learn these rules and apply them in every situation, but English offers us a 10._ of fixed expressions and collocations made up of words which go together for no 11._ reason. Here are some of the more common ones:

| DO | MAKE |

|—-|——|

| do good/ harm | make friends |

| do your best | make a speech |

| do business with somebody | make a profit |

| do your hair | make a decision |

| do your duty | make a phone call |

| do your homework | make an excuse |

| do the ironing | make an effort/ attempt |

| do the dishes | make an exception |

| do the shopping | make a mistake |

| do a favour | make money |

Exercise 1 Fill in the gaps with DO or MAKE

  1. She wanted to win but she didn’t ______ her best.

  2. Come before work and I’ll ______ us breakfast.

  3. This time we will have to ______ an exception.

  4. I have to ______ some ironing before the children come home.

  5. It is always a pleasure to ______ business with you.

  6. I will ______ the dishes after dinner.

  7. We are going to ______ a few phone calls.

Exercise 2 Are these sentences correct? If not, can you correct them?

  1. I did so many mistakes.

  2. I made him a lot of favours and he didn’t do me any.

  3. If you want to get a better deal you need to make some effort.

  4. My sister is going to do my hair for me tonight.

  5. You never make your homework on time.

  6. You are making too much trouble.

  7. I don’t think this made me any harm.

  8. I’m making the shopping in the afternoon.