Is it 'make a decision' or 'do a decision'?

It is 'make a decision.' Use 'make' when you create or produce something with a result, so you say 'I need to make a decision,' not 'do a decision.'

Do you 'do' or 'make' your homework?

You 'do' your homework. Use 'do' for actions, tasks and work in general, so it is 'I have to do my homework,' not 'make my homework.'

Is it 'do me a favor' or 'make me a favor'?

It is 'do me a favor,' not 'make me a favor.' 'Favor' goes with 'do' as a fixed expression.

Vocabulary Level A2

Make vs Do: What's the Difference?

Make or do? Learn the difference with simple rules, the most common collocations, the mistakes learners make, and a quick exercise to test yourself.

create something · or get something done

"Make" and "do" both translate to a single word in many languages, which is exactly why they're so easy to confuse in English. The good news: there's a rough rule that covers most cases, and the rest are fixed phrases you can learn in small groups.

The rough rule

Use make when you create or produce something — there's a result you can point to.

I made a cake.
They made a plan.
She made a mistake. (the result is an error)

Use do for actions, tasks, and work in general — often things that are routine or unspecified.

I have to do my homework.
He's doing the dishes.
What are you doing?

A quick test: if you could replace the verb with "create" or "produce", it's usually make. If it's an activity or a job to get through, it's usually do.

This rule won't catch everything — English has a lot of fixed expressions — but it helps with many common cases, and the exceptions are worth memorizing as set phrases.

Common collocations with make

These go together so often that fluent speakers often treat them as single units. Learn the whole phrase, not just the verb.

make a decision make a mistake make a plan make progress make an effort make a difference make money make friends make a phone call make a noise make breakfast / lunch / dinner make sure

Common collocations with do

do homework do the housework / the dishes / the laundry do a job do business do exercises do research do your best do a favor do damage do nothing / something / anything

Common mistakes

Using "do" where English wants "make".

✕I need to do a decision.
✓I need to make a decision.
✕Don't do so much noise.
✓Don't make so much noise.

Using "make" where English wants "do".

✕I have to make my homework.
✓I have to do my homework.
✕Can you make me a favor?
✓Can you do me a favor?

"Make" meaning "force someone to". This one trips learners up because there's no "to".

✕My boss made me to work late.
✓My boss made me work late.

Quick exercise

Fill in the correct form of make or do.

Have you ______ your homework yet?
I think you've ______ a mistake here.
Let's ______ a plan for the weekend.
Could you ______ me a favor?
The team is ______ good progress.

Answer key

done — do homework; present perfect needs the past participle
made (make a mistake)
make (make a plan)
do (do someone a favor)
making — make progress; present continuous needs -ing

Practice this in Recursio

A reliable way to stop guessing between make and do is to learn the collocations as whole phrases and review them in context. In Recursio, you can save these phrases to your own word list and use spaced recall so "make a decision" and "do your homework" become easier to choose naturally.

Build your word list in Recursio → · Free to start, on iOS and Android.