With noun phrases, “do” often focuses on carrying out an activity or task, while “make” often focuses on creating or producing an outcome. Many combinations are fixed collocations and must be learned as such.
ReviewedEvidence1 sourceSectionEnglish Usage
Quick answer
Use “do” for many activities and tasks and “make” for many created results or outcomes, but check the established collocation when the choice is not obvious.
Key details
Confusion Familygrammar-and-usage distinction
Rule Familymeaning and construction
Termsmake, do
Further guidance
Collocation Boundary
The broad tendency does not predict every phrase. Established collocations such as “do homework” and “make a mistake” control many choices.
Core Tendency
Do commonly focuses on performing an activity or job; make commonly emphasizes a product or outcome.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
“Despite” and “in spite of” have the same concessive role and are followed by a noun phrase or -ing form rather than a finite clause introduced directly after them.
“Forget + -ing” concerns whether an earlier event remains in memory. “Forget + to-infinitive” means the intended action was not remembered and therefore may not have been done.
“Hear” normally presents sound perception as an event or natural process; “listen” presents deliberate attention. Before an object, “listen” normally takes “to.”
