It´s the day after Thursday…!

…and we all now what THAT means, now, don´t we??? Outbound traffic jams on the freeway!

Yes, of course. But more importantly, it´s time for the weekly English tip for all you eager students of the language,  something to chew on over the weekend to make your leisure time all the more complete.

We thought we´d talk about that all confusing topic of when we should say "make" or when we should say "do"…if I had a euro for all the time I´ve been asked that… 

And it´s quite understandable, since the Spanish word for this is pretty much the same word used for all tasks if spoken colloquially or simply.

So we hope that the following will be the sun that will help lift the fog that obscures that breathtaking landscape in our heads that is the English language. (????)

“MAKE”??      “DO”????

Which one do I say??????

Many times we confuse the usage of the words “make” and “do” mostly because we tend to translate it from the Spanish “hacer”.

AS A GENERAL RULE (but, as is the case in many rules in English, there are EXCEPTIONS!):

This is a simplified rule! It is not to be taken as true for all cases!!!

“Make” is used for things that we can produce with our hands.

“Do” is used for tasks we perform.

…SO….,

We say:

“I made a clay sculpture yesterday.”  and…

“Did you do your homework?” 

…OTHER EXAMPLES…

…make the dinner(but you can also say “prepare” the dinner or “cook” the dinner)

…do the dishes (as in “wash” the dishes)

…make some coffee

…do the inventory

…make the bed

…do some research

…GET THE IDEA???

…But now comes the fun part…!

We say:

…make an excuse (if you don´t want to go to a certain place or event)

…do the Math! (if you want to calculate some numbers mentally)

…make friends (to establish friendships)

…do good (to do any good thing)

…make time (to find the time to do something)

…do a show (to perform a spectacle)

…make an effort

…do a report (the kind of “report” that we see on the news on TV)

…but there are other things that we can “produce” and “perform” , and for these cases we use specific verbs like:

…write  a report (the kind of report that your boss asks for)

…create art

…manufacture products

…bake a cake or bread

…roast chicken or meat

…work on  my thesis

…interview the candidate (or applicant)

…pay  a visit (to visit someone)

…among others…

…other random and abstract uses of “make” and “do”….

…make arrangements (to organize details/logistics for a plan)

...do time (to be in prison as a punishment)

…make a decision (it´s not “take”!!)

…do  harm (to cause damage, hurt, or pain to someone or something)

…make believe (to pretend, imagine)

…do a favor

…make money (to gain economic profit)

…do business (to engage in a commercial activity)

…and there are lots of others that you learn AS YOU READ AND LISTEN TO ENGLISH MORE…!

A HAPPY WEEKEND TO YOU ALL….!