Job Discussion Forums

[Moore]

I�m having trouble getting hold of a decent list of words preceded by "make" or "do" (e.g. make a mistake, do good/harm etc.)
Does anyone out there have a list they could cut-and-paste for me or a web link?

[dmb]

take your pick from these links
http://www.google.com/search?q=grammar+make+do&sourceid=mozilla-search&start=0&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official

[Moore]

Thanks dmb. To be honest I�d actually already done a google search and come up with much the same results, but I was looking for something a bit more comprehensive, maybe I�ll have to cobble together my own list.

[Gregor]

Don't forget to teach "to make do," as in, "I don't make a lot of money as a TEFL teacher, but I make do."

[stillnosheep]

Or "to do make" as in "I don't always get mix my metaphors right but I do make an effort to hit the barndoor with the banjo"

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

^ Mr. Callan calls that the "emphatic" do.

[Moore]

"do make" and "make do": excellent - cue middle aged Spanish executives openly weeping into their notebooks

[grahamb]

I think Swan's English Usage contains a list of examples.
In their usual brilliant fashion, the Yanks have added a further dimension to the "Do" problem with such gems as "This year I'm doing Thailand" and "I don't do drugs."
Perhaps they should "do" English grammar in US schools.

[Gregor]

grahamb,
Serious question - how would you say "to do drugs" in British? "Take drugs," I suppose? I have no issue with "do" in that context.

The other example - "doing Thailand," now THAT one drives me up a wall. That is very New York/L.A. Chic. I don't think people really talk like that, do they?

[jr1965]

Another thing you might try is looking up the words �make� and �do� in a good dictionary, where you�ll be likely to find expressions/phrases associated with these words (e.g., �do homework� �make an impression�).

[grahamb]

Yes Gregor, I would use "take" when discussing the ingestion (or otherwise) of illegal drugs.
I've seen lots of postings on the Forum from people announcing their plans to "do" one country or another in summer. Yeuch!
Another of my pet hates is the way people from the Indian sub-continent use the present continuous ad nauseam. In other words, they are not using the verb do. AAARGH!
jr1965's advice is good. A teachers should never be more than an arm's length away from his/her dictionary.

[grahamb]

Yes I know I did... sorry, made, a mistake. It should have been "teacher!"

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

Hi there!


On a slightly more serious note than my previous reply -

I like to teach my students the following conceptual rule:


We tend to use 'make' when we do something creative, unique or personal:

eg, make love, make a speech, make dinner, make a phone call, make up one's mind, etc.

In the above examples, what 'you make' and what 'I make' are unique.


We tend to use 'do' when we talk about something which is more related to work, routine or obligation:

eg, do the washing up, do one's duty, do one's homework, do a good deed, etc.


I know this isn't a black & white rule, but it helps students to better

understand the slight distinction between the two, and perhaps to guess

which one would be 'correct' if you had to guess on an exam question.

[grahamb]

Following on from what Kent said about the creative use of "make," I tell students that it's often used when referring to physical products such as cars, for example.

[Echidna]

If you'd really like to do a search yourself, may I suggest a good concordancer, which takes your word of choice (in this case, make or do) from thousands of written samples and shows you their surrounding words. This is a great tool for any kind of collocation.
In my opinion, a terrific one is:

www.edict.com.hk/

Good luck!