Let’s be honest, sometimes English can be confusing. Sometimes when learning English it is easy to mix up words or be unsure when to use them.
I often hear German speakers who are learning English make mistakes with the words ‘make’ and ‘do’. Often (but not always) it is because the German word ‘machen’ is mistranslated.
There are many phrases and expressions that exist in English where there is no real rule to help you remember the difference between ‘make’ and ‘do’. You just have to learn them. Sorry!
Take a look at the examples below. Hopefully they will make things clearer for you.
Do business.
E.g. It’s been great doing business with you.
We do business internationally.
Do work.
E.g. I’ve done a lot of work on this presentation.
He does a lot of work at weekends.
Make money / a profit / a loss.
E.g. Things are going well. We made a lot of money last year.
We’ve made a big profit over the last couple of years.
Unfortunately we made a loss in the second half of last year.
Have fun learning English!
Louise