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Collocation & Expressions with MAKE and DO (PDF)

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This lesson deals with collocations with make and do, two verbs that many learners have problems with. The English verbs do and make are highly confused, so pay particular attention to the examples down below. You can also download collocations with make and do PDF at the end of this post.

If you remember that the basic meaning of make is about producing something and the basic meaning of do is about performing an action, then the collocations on this page may seem more logical.

Collocation with MAKE and DO

MAKE	DO
Make money	Do research
Make progress	Do homework
Make a difference	Do business
Make a mistake	Do exercise
Make a decision	Do damage
Make a phone call	Do justice
Make a reservation	Do well
Make a point	Do wrong
Make a plan	Do a favor
Make a change	Do a job
Make a move	Do a task
Make a living	Do a survey
Make a statement	Do a study
Make a claim	Do a presentation
Make a request	Do a workout
Make a purchase	Do a service
Make a reservation	Do a good deed
Make a list	Do a test
Make breakfast	Do a search
Make lunch	Do a cleaning

Check Also:
100+ Common English Collocations List (PDF)
Types of Collocations in English & Examples
Separable and Inseparable Phrasal Verbs & List (PDF)✅

Collocation Examples with MAKE

Collocation	Definition	Example
Make Arrangements For	to prepare or organize something	The school can make arrangements for pupils with special needs.
Make a Change / Changes	to alter or modify something	The new manager is planning to make some changes.
Make a Choice	to select or decide between options	She had to make a choice between her career and her family.
Make a Comment / Comments	to express an opinion or give feedback	Would anyone like to make any comments on the talk?
Make a Contribution To	to give or add something that is useful or helpful	She made a useful contribution to the discussion.
Make a Decision	to come to a conclusion or resolve	I’m glad it’s you who has to make the decision, not me.
Make an Effort	to try hard or exert oneself	He is really making an effort with his maths this term.
Make an Excuse	to provide a reason or justification for not doing something	I’m too tired to go out tonight. Let’s make an excuse and stay at home.
Make Friends	to form social relationships or connections with others	She is very good at making friends.
Make an Improvement	to enhance or better something	Repainting the room has really made an improvement.
Make a Mistake	to do something wrongly or incorrectly	They’ve made a mistake in our bill.
Make a Phone Call	to dial and speak with someone over the phone	I’ve got to make some phone calls before dinner.
Make Progress	to advance or improve in a particular area	Holly is making progress with all her schoolwork.

Collocation Examples with DO

Collocation	Meaning	Example
Do research	Conduct investigations to gain knowledge or information	I’m doing research for my project on renewable energy.
Do homework	Complete assigned work outside of class	I need to do my homework before watching the movie.
Do business	Engage in commercial transactions	We do business with several companies in the UK.
Do exercise	Physical activity to maintain or improve physical fitness	I usually do exercise every morning before breakfast.
Do damage	Inflict harm or injury	The storm did a lot of damage to the town.
Do justice	Deal fairly or act in accordance with what is right or lawful	The court needs to do justice in this case.
Do well	Succeed or perform exceptionally	She’s doing well in her studies and has already received several awards.
Do wrong	Act unethically or in a manner that is harmful or unjust	I can’t believe he did something so wrong.
Do a favor	Offer help or assistance to someone	Can you do me a favor please?
Do a job	Perform a task or complete a piece of work	He’s a skilled person and can do any job with ease.
Do a task	Complete a specific piece of work	I need to do the task assigned to me before tomorrow.
Do a survey	Conduct a research study to gather information from a sample of people	They are doing a survey about global warming

Tip: Notice all the patterns that you can see in these tables. For example, make a comment, make an excuse and make a contribution to a discussion are all connected with saying things. Noticing connections like this may help you to remember the correct collocation.