Make & Do
Executive Summary: Make vs. Do
MAKE: Creative & Results
Focus on the output or the final product.
- Origin/Material: Made by [Company], Made in [Country], Made of [Material].
- Decision-making: Make a decision, make an appointment.
- Outcome: Make a mistake, make an effort, make a profit.
DO: Actions & Process
Focus on the activity itself or general tasks.
- General Actions: Do something, do anything, do nothing.
- Work/Service: Do business, do your best, do a favour.
- Emphasis: Used to stress a point (e.g., “I do believe we can meet the deadline”).
Professional Advice:
Rules are helpful, but English is full of exceptions. Many business collocations don’t follow logic (e.g., make a phone call vs do the accounts). The key to proficiency is learning these fixed expressions as complete units.
Try out these tests.
1. Select a sentence below | 2. Click the correct form:
This test is handy to choose an answer because all you have to do is tap the answer.