Make vs Do | Learn English Grammar

Welcome back to another lesson with me Tom. Today we're looking at two words that cause

so many problems for anyone learning English. Make and Do. When do we use these words and

why do we use them? Today, we are going to find out.

Ok, let's start with do. Now we use do when we are talking about indefinite activities.

Words such as something, anything, nothing. For example 'I did nothing at work today'.

Another example 'Did you do anything at the weekend?' So we are using anything there.

I'm not sure what activities we are talking about here so I have used anything and with

anything I use do. Or you might say to someone 'Hey let's do something this weekend.' Let's

do an activity, I don't know what but something. So something, nothing, anything we are using

do. We also use do with tasks or work. For example 'I did the shopping yesterday.' This

is a task, something that I have to do. Or you might do the washing up. Which is to clean

your plates, your knives, your forks etc. So to do the washing up. So we are using do

with some kind of work or some kind of task. Ok, let's look at make. With make we are constructing

or creating something. So for example 'Let's make a cake'. Let's build it, let's create

it together. Now there are lots of fixed expressions that fall outside those definitions. So those

are useful to guide us but they are not going to help us with every example. There are many

phrases you just have to learn by heart, ok? You just have to learn them as you go and

remember them. I'm going to throw up a word onto the screen and I'm going to give you

about two seconds to decide whether you use make or do with this word. Ok, are you ready?

Let's go. Yoga.

Alright, we do yoga. 'I've been doing yoga since I was a teenager.'

Friends.

Alright, we make friends. 'Going to an English class is a great way to make friends.'

A mistake.

Ok, we make a mistake. 'Everybody makes mistakes'

An exam.

Ok, yes we do an exam. This one is

often mistaken. I remember lots of my students making this mistake. There we go make a mistake.

This one is to do an exam. You can take an exam as well, of course but you can do an exam.

'I'm doing an exam this Friday.'

Somebody a favour.

Ok, we do someone a favour. That

means you do something that is helpful for them. So maybe it's babysit their child or

hold something or go and pick up something from the post office I don't know but you

do something helpful for them. 'Can you do me a favour and give me a lift to the airport?'

Fun of someone.

Yeah, we make fun of someone. This is to tease them, to make a joke about

them. So 'My mates always made fun of my hair.' I used to have very bad hair, it's true. Ok,

love

That's right. We make love. This is to have sex with your partner. To make love. 'They made love

while on honeymoon.'

The shopping.

Ok, we do the shopping. This is to go to the supermarket.

We are not talking about buying clothes or an expensive car or whatever. This is about

buying food from a supermarket. To do your shopping. Maybe it's also cleaning products

and just things you need for the house. 'I do the shopping every Saturday.'

A suggestion.

It's make a suggestion. Yep, we make a suggestion so to put forward an idea. To give your idea

about something, a recommendation or something. 'Can I make a suggestion guys that we take

umbrellas because I think it's going to rain.'

Ok, so those are some examples of do and make.

Now on the screen I'm going to throw up several more examples. I want you to have a look,

try and remember them and then I'm going to give you a little test, ok? I know how much

you guys love these little tests. I'm going to put up a sentence with a gap and you have

to decide is it make or do? Now be careful, it could be in the past tense or the present

perfect tense so you have to be careful. Remember do in the past is did and the past participle

done. So do did done. With make it's make, made, made so make in the infinitive, made

in the past and made in the past participle. Ok, so first of all here are some other examples

of when to use make and when to use do.

Ok, now you've looked at that. Let's do a test.

How was that guys? How did you do? If you didn't get them all correct, don't worry.

Go back revise what we have learned today and then do the test again. And then when

you are ready in the comments below I want you to write some practice sentences with

the phrases that maybe you didn't know so well. So if you haven't seen make a mistake

then in the comments below write a sentence with make a mistake. I hope you enjoyed that

guys. Give this video a big thumbs up, share it with anyone you know that is trying to

learn English. If you are an English teacher. Please use this video in your class. I would

love that. I would love to hear how it was. My voice is going. Yeah, it's disappearing

on me so I better go. Remember to follow me on Instagram and on Facebook where I put daily

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hit the join button below this video. Thank you so much guys, my voice is going now. It's

disappearing on me so I better go. This is Tom the Chief Dreamer saying goodbye.