Do vs Make
Difference between Do and Make becomes a question when the meaning and the usage of these two words are not properly understood. Due to the different ways these two words are used in the English language, people tend to think that they are somehow similar. In fact, they are two different words that convey two different meanings. The word do is used in the sense of ‘perform’. On the other hand, the word make is used in the sense of ‘create’ or ‘construct’. This is the important difference between the two words. What the two words, make and do, have in common is the part of speech they belong to; verbs.
What does Do mean?
The word do is used in the sense of perform. Observe the two sentences given below:
He will do the work today.
She can do it now.
In both the sentences, you can find that the word do is used in the sense of ‘perform’ and hence, the first sentence can be rewritten as ‘he will perform the work today’, and the second sentence can be rewritten as ‘she can perform it now’. The abstract noun form of the verb do is ‘doing’.
What does Make mean?
The word make is used in the sense of create, construct, or prepare. Observe the three sentences given below:
A sculptor makes sculptures.
A designer makes designs.
She made lunch for her parents.
In both of the first two sentences, the word make is used in the sense of ‘create’ and hence the meaning of the first sentence would be ‘a sculptor creates sculptures’, and the meaning of the second sentence would be ‘a designer creates designs’. In the last sentence, make means ‘prepare.’ So, the meaning would be ‘she prepared lunch for her parents.’
It is interesting to note that the word make is sometimes used in the sense of ‘achieve’ as in the sentence given below.
He can make it for sure.
Here, the word make is used in the sense of ‘achieve’ and hence, the meaning of the sentence would be ‘he can achieve it for sure’. Sometimes, the word make is used in the sense of ‘manufacture’ and hence, it is used as a noun also as in the sentence given below.
This shoe is a good make.
Here the word make is used as a noun.
What is the difference between Do and Make?
• The word do is used in the sense of ‘perform’.
• On the other hand, the word make is used in the sense of ‘create’ or ‘construct’. It is also sometimes used in the sense of prepare. This is the important difference between the two words.
• It is interesting to note that the word make is sometimes used in the sense of ‘achieve.’
• Sometimes, the word make is used in the sense of ‘manufacture.’
• There are times when make is used as a noun as in ‘this shoe is a good make.’ Otherwise, both the words are used as verbs.
• The abstract noun form of the verb do is ‘doing’.
These are the differences between the two words, do and make.