2018-04-27 Make and Do – 4 things to remember – English In A Minute

Phil
Hi, I’m Phil from BBC Learning English. Today I’m going to tell you how to use make and do. Now, they can be tricky and there are some exceptions. But here are four things to remember. We use make when we create something… like this cake! We use do to talk about an activity.

Dan
What are you doing?

Phil
I’m doing some work. We can use make to talk about something that causes a reaction. This music really makes me want to sing! We can also use do with general activities. 

Dan
What are you doing tomorrow?

Phil
I’m not doing anything. Have you got any plans?

Make and Do

Use make:

• when we create something : I just made a cake.
• when something causes a reaction: This film makes me sad.

Use do:

• when we talk about activities: I’m not doing anything. What do you want to do?
• when we talk about activties in general: What does he do? He’s a lawyer.