Make vs Do

Spanish people have problems knowing when to use the words “make” or “do” in English. This is because in Spanish the two verbs are the same “hacer.” This is a simple mistake that sounds peculiar to a native speaker; so here are a few rules to help you remember.

We use 'make' when we create or construct something. For example:

• She made a cake.
• I've made us some coffee.
• Did you really make those trousers?

  2: We use 'do' for general activities. In this case, 'do' is often used with 'something', 'nothing', 'anything' or 'everything':

• What did you do at the weekend?
• I didn't do anything yesterday.
• She's fed up with doing everything herself. She needs some help.
• Are you doing anything interesting during the holidays?

So this is the basic rule but as with so many parts of the English language there are exceptions.

For example a very common one is: “What do you do?” This is not literal because like most people I am sure the answer would be very long if you described every aspect of your life... It actually just means. “What is your job?”