Make A Decision & Do Your Best

Everyone can do simple things to make a difference, and every little bit really does count. Stella McCartney, English fashion designer.

Do and make are two of the most common verbs in English and also often commonly confused by non-native speakers. Firstly, it is because they both have the same meaning in Croatian: činiti or raditi. Secondly, there are numerous 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 favour (učiniti uslugu). Others are less obvious, for instance do homework (napisati domaću zadaću) or make money (zaraditi novac) and these are best learnt by heart. Here are some useful tips for correctly using do and make in various situations.

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 chores, 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 ironing (izglačati rublje) and do the dishes (oprati sude). 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.

Make is slightly less general, and is normally used for an activity that results in something tangible. 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 perform: 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 myriad of fixed expressions and collocations made up of words which go together for no apparent reason. Here are some of the more common ones:

DO

do good/harm

do your best

do business with somebody

do your hair

do your duty

do your homework

do the ironing

do the dishes

do the shopping

do a favour

MAKE

make friends

make a speech

make a profit

make a decision

make a phone call

make an excuse

make an effort/attempt

make an exception

make a mistake

make money

Exercise 1 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.

Exercise 2 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 3 Translate the following sentences. Each sentence has to have either make or do in the translation.

1. Do kraja dana moram donijeti ispravnu odluku.

2. Dala sam najbolje od sebe ali, nažalost, nisam uspjela.

3. Najbolje bi bilo da napravimo neke promjene.

4. Napravili su strašan nered u stanu.

5. Napravi mi uslugu i otiđi u dućan, molim te!

6. Moram urediti kosu za sutrašnju zabavu.

English at Work 1 i 2’ – lekcije objavljene u Lideru možete naći u dva izvršna priručnika za učenje poslovnoga engleskog jezika. Sadržavaju presjek čestih poslovnih tema, od onih iz financija, poslovnih odnosa i marketinga, odnosa s javnošću do onih koje se bave uspješnim komuniciranjem u poslovnom okružju.