Common English Collocations with DO & MAKE

1. FOOD

• Make breakfast/lunch/dinner

I’m making dinner – it’ll be ready in about ten minutes.

• Make a sandwich

Could you make me a turkey sandwich?

• Make a salad

I made a salad for the family picnic.

• Make a cup of tea

Would you like me to make you a cup of tea?

• Make a reservation

I’ve made a reservation for 7:30 at our favorite restaurant.

2. MONEY

• Make money

I enjoy my job, but I don’t make very much money.

• Make a profit

The new company made a profit within its first year.

• Make a fortune

He made a fortune after his book hit #1 on the bestseller list.

• Make $___

I made $250 selling my old CDs on the internet.

3. RELATIONSHIPS

• Make friends

It’s hard to make friends when you move to a big city.

• Make a pass at (= flirt with someone)

My best friend’s brother made a pass at me – he asked if I was single and tried to get my phone number.

• Make fun of someone (= tease / mock someone)

The other kids made fun of Jimmy when he got glasses, calling him “four eyes.”

• Make up (= resolve a problem in a relationship)

Karen and Jennifer made up after the big fight they had last week.

4. COMMUNICATION

• Make a phone call

Please excuse me – I need to make a phone call.

• Make a joke

He made a joke, but it wasn’t very funny and no one laughed.

• Make a point

Dana made some good points during the meeting; I think we should consider her ideas.

• Make a bet

I made a bet with Peter to see who could do more push-ups.

• Make a complaint

We made a complaint with our internet provider about their terrible service, but we still haven’t heard back from them.

• Make a confession

I need to make a confession: I was the one who ate the last piece of cake.

• Make a speech

The company president made a speech about ethics in the workplace.

• Make a suggestion

Can I make a suggestion? I think you should cut your hair shorter – it’d look great on you!

• Make a prediction

It’s difficult to make any predictions about the future of the economy.

• Make an excuse

When I asked him if he’d finished the work, he started making excuses about how he was too busy.

• Make a promise

I made a promise to help her whenever she needs it.

(You can also say, “I promised to help her whenever she needs it.”)

• Make a fuss (= demonstrate annoyance)

Stop making a fuss – he’s only late a couple minutes. I’m sure he’ll be here soon.

• Make an observation

I’d like to make an observation about our business plan – it’s not set in stone, so we can be flexible.

• Make a comment

The teacher made a few critical comments on my essay.

EXCEPTION: Don’t say “make a question.” The correct phrase is “ask a question.”

5. PLANS & PROGRESS

• Make plans

We’re making plans to travel to Australia next year.

• Make a decision/choice

I’ve made my decision – I’m going to go to New York University, not Boston University.

• Make a mistake

You made a few mistakes in your calculations – the correct total is $5430, not $4530.

• Make progress

My students are making good progress. Their spoken English is improving a lot.

• Make an attempt / effort (= try)

I’m making an effort to stop smoking this year.

• Make up your mind (= decide)

Should I buy a desktop or a laptop computer? I can’t make up my mind.

• Make a discovery

Scientists have made an important discovery in the area of genetics.

• Make a list

I’m making a list of everything we need for the wedding: invitations, decorations, a cake, a band, the dress…

• Make sure (= confirm)

Can you make sure we have enough copies of the report for everybody at the meeting?

• Make a difference

Getting eight hours of sleep makes a big difference in my day. I have more energy!

• Make an exception

Normally the teacher doesn’t accept late homework, but she made an exception for me because my backpack was stolen with my homework inside it.

1. HOUSEWORK

• Do the housework

After I got home from the office, I was too tired to do the housework.

• Do the laundry

I really need to do the laundry – I don’t have any clean clothes left!

• Do the dishes

I’ll make dinner if you do the dishes afterwards.

(You can also say “wash the dishes”)

• Do the shopping

I went to the bank, did some shopping, and mailed a package at the post office.

EXCEPTION: make the bed = putting blankets, sheets, and pillows in the correct place so that the bed looks nice and not messy.

2. WORK / STUDY

• Do work

I can’t go out this weekend – I have to do some work on an extra project.

• Do homework

You can’t watch any TV until you’ve done your homework.

• Do business

We do business with clients in fifteen countries.

• Do a good/great/terrible job

She did a good job organizing the party.

(In this expression, “job” doesn’t necessarily refer to work. It simply means the person did something well)

• Do a report

I’m doing a report on the history of American foreign policy.

(You can also say “writing a report”)

• Do a course

We’re doing a course at the local university.

(You can also say “taking a course”)

3. TAKING CARE OF YOUR BODY

• Do exercise

I do at least half an hour of exercise every day.

• Do your hair (= style your hair)

I’ll be ready to go in 15 minutes – I just need to do my hair.

• Do your nails (= paint your nails)

Can you open this envelope for me? I just did my nails and they’re still wet.

4. GENERAL GOOD OR BAD ACTIONS

• Do anything / something / everything / nothing

Are you doing anything special for your birthday?

You can’t do everything by yourself – let me help you.

• Do well

I think I did pretty well in the interview.

• Do badly

Everyone did badly on the test – the highest grade was 68.

• Do good

The non-profit organization has done a lot of good in the community.

• Do the right thing

When I found someone’s wallet on the sidewalk, I turned it in to the police because I wanted to do the right thing.

• Do your best

Don’t worry about getting everything perfect – just do your best.