¿Qué diferencia hay entre “to do” y “to make”?
Ambos tienen como significado ‘hacer’. Hay expresiones que se forman con uno u otro y son invariables. Por ejemplo, ‘do me a favor’, ‘make some tea’.
«Do” y “make” son dos verbos que se confunden frecuentemente en inglés. Los dos se pueden traducir como “hacer”, pero…¿Cuál es la diferencia? ¿Cuándo se utiliza «do» y cuándo se usa «make»?
To do:
Lo usamos cuando hablamos de acciones, como en:
- “to do the ironig” (planchar).
- “to do exercise” (hacer ejercicio).
To make
Normalmente hace referencia a fabricar o crear algo, al resultado de una acción:
- «to make a cake» (hacer un pastel).
- «to make tea» (hacer un té).
La diferencia entre “to do” y “to make” puede llegar a ser desafiante porque toda regla en cualquier idioma tiene sus excepciones, y esas excepciones en este caso son muy numerosas.
DO:
- Many people do more than 50 mph through this town. It’s very dangerous.
- She did very badly on the exam, so she’ll have to retake it.
- Don’t worry about getting everything correct. Just do your best.
- It’s been a pleasure doing business with you.
- I have to go home and do some chores this afternoon.
- John has decided to do a course in computing this autumn.
- She sat on the sofa, doing a crossword and drinking tea.
- The storm has done a lot of damage to the house.
- I really hate doing the dishes. I’m hoping to buy a dishwasher this year.
- The little boy spent hours doing a drawing.
- He has to do his duty and look after his elderly parents.
- I have to do three exams and write a huge essay this term.
- Julie likes doing exercise, especially running.
- My friend did me a huge favour and lent me some money.
- David often spends Sunday afternoons doing gardening.
- She helps homeless people and tries to do good.
- You should eat your vegetables. They’ll do you good!
- Allie spends ages doing her hair in the morning.
- I spilt coffee on my suit and tried to clean it, but I did more harm than good. It looks even worse now!
- Have you finished doing your homework?
- Let’s do the housework quickly this morning, then we can go out for lunch.
- My mother listens to the radio while she does the ironing.
- I think the students did a great job with this essay. It’s excellent.
- He did the laundry, cleaned the house, and made dinner.
- Jenny likes to do her nails each week.
- There was an old man sitting on the bank of the river, doing a painting.
- Does everybody hate doing paperwork?
- I’m doing some research for my thesis at the moment.
- I’ll do the shopping tomorrow morning. We need milk, bread, pasta and bananas.
- My sister is doing well in her new job.
- Unfortunately, Lucy does a lot of work at the weekends.
- I’ve bought all new winter clothes:– boots, a coat and a very warm hat. Weather, do your worst!
MAKE:
- I’m so sorry that I upset you. How can I make amends?
- She had toothache, so she made an appointment with the dentist for the following day.
- Okay, so we’re going to go on holiday in September. Let’s make some arrangements. I’ll find a hotel, and you can look at flights.
- I know we might not catch the plane, but let’s at least make an attempt to be on time.
- The children’s favourite game is to make believe that they are kings and queens from long ago.
- I think the café opens at six, but let’s make certain. I don’t want to be standing in the street waiting!
- I’ve made some changes to the document.
- Which job are you going to take? You need to make a choice.
- My mother made a comment about my shoes.
- The food took so long to arrive that Julie made a complaint to the manager.
- I’d like to make a confession. I was the one who ate the last of the chocolate.
- I’d love to see you soon. How about if we make a date for next week?
- I’ve made my decision. I’m going to go back to university.
- Going to the gym has really made a difference to how I feel.
- When John was last in London he made a discovery – a beautiful little café in a quiet street.
- You’re not trying hard enough! Make an effort!
- He made several errors on the report, and the boss told him to rewrite it.
- The bank robbers took £10,000 from the safe and then made their escape.
- Usually the children aren’t allowed to watch TV but I made an exception today since the weather was so horrible.
- Why was Lisa late? Did she make an excuse?
- The child took a bite of the broccoli and made a face.
- We put up our tent, made a fire, and had a hot drink.
- You shouldn’t sing in front of everyone! You’ll make a fool of yourself.
- Lucy made a fortune when she sold her company. Now she doesn’t have to work.
- She loved university and made lots of friends.
- The children love to make fun of the teacher,– but only when she’s not looking.
- It’s okay! I’m fine, it’s just a cough. Don’t make a fuss!
- Jenny certainly made an impression last night! All my friends are asking about her.
- The interview was very tense at the beginning, but then John made a joke, and after that it was much more relaxed.
- Because of the snow, try not to make any journeys which are not absolutely essential.
- First, I must make a list of all the things I need to do.
- Their business made a loss the first year, but did much better after that.
- The hero and the heroine made love in the film.
- She made so many mistakes in her essay that the teacher couldn’t understand it.
- John made a lot of money in his twenties and was able to retire at the age of 35.
- Look how late it is! Let’s make a move.
- Please try not to make a noise when you come home, because I’ll be asleep.
- Could I make an observation? I don’t think some of our customers like the new adverts.
- She made an offer on a house. She’s nervous because she’ll find out today if it has been accepted, and she really wants to buy that house.
- Hello? I’d like to make a credit card payment, please.
- I’m going to go outside and make a phone call. It’s too noisy in here.
- David is making plans to move to Paris.
- The professor used lots of examples to make his point.
- The journalist made a prediction about the economy, but in the end it wasn’t correct.
- His business made a profit from the beginning.
- Finally, after being stuck in a traffic jam for an hour, we’re making some progress! We’ll arrive by 8pm.
- I must study hard today. I made a promise to my mum that I wouldn’t fail any more exams.
- John was upset because the boss made a negative remark about his work.
- Could you call the restaurant and make a reservation for tonight?
- Susie made a scene in the café when her order was wrong. She shouted at all the staff and demanded to speak to the manager.
- Don’t make a sound! We need to be completely quiet.
- The bride’s father often makes a speech at her wedding.
- Could I make a suggestion? How about going out for dinner?
- I don’t think I left the gate open, but I’m just going to go and make sure.
- Could you please make the bed before you leave the house? Otherwise it looks so messy with the duvet and the pillows everywhere.
- That employee is trying to make trouble. He is always telling the boss bad things about his colleagues.
- I’ll call you this afternoon.– I need to make a visit to my granny this morning.
- Do you want chocolate or strawberry ice cream? Make your mind up quickly!
- After the film, John made his way to a café, where he had two cups of coffee and some cake.
