"Make" and "do" are difficult for non-native speakers because often you use only one verb- e.g. "faire", in French and "machen" in German - to express the meanings of both "make" and "do".

It's impossible for me to list all of the different ways that "make" and "do" are used. "Make" is used more frequently in the sense of fabrication, or of successfully achieving a goal. "Do" is more often used for the sense of performing a task or used as an auxiliary verb.

Here are some examples of the most common usages.

Meeting someone at a party:  "What do you do?" = "What is your profession?"
"What do you make?" = "How much money do you earn?"

Advent: "I made my Christmas cards." = "I designed and printed my Ch. cards."
"I did my Christmas cards." = "I wrote and mailed my Ch. cards."

Traveling: "Did you make your train?" = "Did you catch your train?"

Between colleagues: "Do you need help?"....."Yes, I do."

Now, here's a test- Two LPM1 students are talking about their research project:

Student 1, "Have you made the sample?"
Student 2, "No, I'll make it tomorrow, then I'll do the experiment."
Student 1, "If you do the experiment, do you want me to write the lab report?"
Student 2, "Yes, I do. I hope that we can make Professor Benoit happy."
Student 1, "It would make me happy if we do."

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Created May 11, 1998, by Nancy Burnham and Fred Hutson.