Do or Make? Learn the rules we follow

[@lucieneneves931]

The best explanation I've ever had

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

Thanks so much Luciene. :-)

[@mollietai8946]

Simple English does everything at its best to make the world a better place.

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

Ha! Love it. Thank you Mollie!

[@carlos-9475]

Keep on "making" entertaining videos like this one!

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

Oh great example Alberto, and we will!

[@akoska]

Simple English Videos Sprechen Sie deutsch Wicki oder Jay, oder beide?

[@evergreen7260]

@@akoska A hungarian made a german comment under an english teaching video. MAGYAROOOK!

[@rafael737]

I always wanted to learn English in a smart and fun way; thanks Vicki and Jay!🤩

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

Oh so glad you find it helpful Rafael. Thanks for writing.

[@SkyTheHusky]

And Super Agent

[@adrianserra3745]

@@SkyTheHusky That boy is from another planet. 😄

[@SkyTheHusky]

@@adrianserra3745 ha ha

[@bushi8928]

Thank you, Vicki and Jay! You're DOING a wonderful job, MAKING these useful videos.

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

Ha! Great examples! Thanks so much Amanda.

[@bushi8928]

I'm so glad you like them. Kisses

[@andremedeiros820]

The best explanation about do and make I've ever listened

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

So glad it was useful Andre. We made another video about these words some years ago but I was =never happy with our explanation of 'do'. This version has more examples to make it clearer.

[@andremedeiros820]

Simple English Videos it is a hard subject because it's a little bit subjective i suppose. But you guys are really great with the lessons thank you.

[@juandavidariascumbe1139]

Hi. My name is juan David and i am from colombia. I dont understand some word but i understand you. Thanks for all.

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

Nice to meet you Juan and welcome to our channel. So glad you can follow the gist. Keep practising and it will get easier.

[@annarust7445]

It's a very creative video!Thanks a lot! I wasn't boring.

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

That's great to hear. Thanks Anna Rust.

[@elizabethcaiado4344]

I loved this lesson. I have always doubts about using do and make. Thanks

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

So glad you liked it Elizabeth. There are more expressions that you'll need to learn one by one, but these rules are great guidelines.

[@daliljousif8973]

you both are really great, creative and humorous, and I am happy to find your channel. you always DO me favours and I MAKE use of your videos. Greetings from Kurdistan!

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

And we're delighted to have you with us Dalil. Great examples! Thanks for writing.

[@evajosefaflorescarrasco3228]

You really clear my doubts of using Do and Make. Thank you so much😄

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

That's great to hear Iran Maria. Thank you

[@janewescombe426]

Clear explanations that I can use with my students, thanks.

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

Oh that's good to hear. Thanks Jane. We made another version of this video in the past, but we always thought we could do better and provide fuller explanations. This one has new scenes and explanations so we're glad you found it clear enough for your students.

[@omidullahsediqi8343]

Thanks a lot for your helping. you are so much kind.

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

You're very welcome Omidullah. It's great to have you with us and thanks for writing.

[@Δαυίδ-θ8ι]

I love British accent ;’) You guys are cute and I understand in English very easy by your lovely way to teach English. Thank you so much. 🙏🏻

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

Oh that's great to hear. Thank you so much for writing.

[@vijaytiwari7561]

I love watching your video tutorials n find very funlearning.

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

Oh that's great to hear Vijay! Thank you.

[@ronaldopitangaoficial]

Very good. Congratulations.

[@habinsha1567]

You are teaching Simple and natural entirely different from others thanks Vicky and jay keep continue 👍👍

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

Thank you so much Habin. There are lots of ways to learn English that are very effective. We believe it's very useful to see English in action so we try to incorporate a lot of conversations and stories in our videos. It's one approach and it's not the only one that works, but we're so glad you like it.

[@nowitskevin3951]

this is interesting that in english we have a difference between to do and to make (a subtle one anyway), when in a lot of languages they combine the two verbs in one verb. spanish: “hacer” (to do/to make) italian: “fare” (to do/make) this might be a reason for the confusion between the two verbs? i strongly believe we get our two separate verbs from german. they have “machen” (to make or to do?) and “ tun” (to do). i’m not an expert in german but from what i know they are interchangeable for the most part.

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

Thanks so much for sharing this NowItsKevin. Yes, this is a particular problem for speakers of Latin based languages, though learners with other first languages often find it a challenge too. The rules we follow are pretty vague and in many cases it's a matter of learning the collocations one by one. e.g. we do good deeds but we make a difference.

[@nicholasthorn1539]

I don't think "machen" and "tun" are interchangeable but their meanings sometimes overlap in a way that "make" and "do" never do

[@AnnabelleJARankin]

@@nicholasthorn1539 German speakers usually have the biggest problem with this - because of 'machen'. For example, 'Was machst du hier?' means 'What are you doing here?'

[@nicholasthorn1539]

@@AnnabelleJARankin I know, I didn't study German all those years for nothing. But do you ever say "Was tutst du hier?" I doubt it

[@AnnabelleJARankin]

@@nicholasthorn1539 🤗

[@speakenglishwithmremad3974]

You two are doing great job with this channel

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

Thanks so much Eddie. Onwards and upwards.

[@juliocesarlimadesousa9109]

Great job!

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

Oh good, you found the new version. :-)

[@draisabellalanzieri]

You’ve been doing a great job!!!! Keep making that great videos, they all come in handy! As I commented in one other video before , I took the FCE exam and It was really easier with your tips! I’m motivated to studying for the CAE now! Thanks a lot, I will continue to picking up my English here with you!

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

Isabella, that's so great that we were able to help you pass the FCE exam. We're very, very excited by that. Thanks for letting us know and thanks for watching. Good look with the CAE :-)

[@nickogames3625]

You all did a great job making this video! :D

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

Ha! Great examples. Thanks Nickogames.

[@NickLiao]

Thanks, you are doing a great job and making me laugh.

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

So glad you liked it Nick.

[@ashubhai1]

Great episode by both of you... I've learned a lot from you. It's been very helpful for me so far

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

Oh that's good to hear Ashish.

[@gromit0299]

Miss ya, sweet lady. I hope you’re on the best next journey.

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

Thank you for your kind words, @gromit. - Jay

[@gatorap2427]

It Helped me a lot! But I have a question.Cooking is a work so we can use do?

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

Great question Gato. Yes, you can. For example I might ask "Who does the cooking in your house?" if I am thinking of cooking as a job or chore. But if I want to know who cooked a dish I might ask, "Who made this?"

[@reginacastellao9265]

Hi, I love your videos!!!! It´s very funny and I learn a lot...thank you

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

Oh that's great to hear Regina. Thanks for writing.

[@ahmedahmed-pb7ln]

Interesting to follow with a pleasant full way to learn ! A question : Can we tell doing a favor or making one ? Thanks

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

Hello Ahmed. So glad you like it. We do favours (or do favors, as they spell it in American English). It's one of these collocations you'll need to learn one by one.

[@andrewm9513]

How nice, i love it :) Jason was absent on KZbin for some time, but hopefully came back a couple weeks ago :)

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

Hi Andrew. So glad you like it! Yes, Jason had a lot of internet problems, but thankfully he's back.

[@aparecidoferreiravais321]

Hi Vicki hi Jay I loved this video he very helpful is very well explained thank you Have a nice weekend

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

Oh that's great to hear Aparecido. Have a great day!

[@leopoldskreicbergs7664]

Thanks a lot !

[@javierlopez1531]

Could we consider as a possible answer to say that we use 'do' to talk about things we perform/develop and 'make' for things we create? Thank you very much for your work! It helps me a lot in class!!!

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

Hi AJ. What and interesting question. Thanks for this! Before we start, I have to emphasize what I said in the video. There are lots of collocations with make and do that just have to be learnt one by one, but this is a great question so let's explore it. (I think exploring interesting questions like this is a great way to learn the language.) 'Make' for things we create absolutely works - so we make sandwiches, cakes, plans, noise, paper aeroplanes...etc etc. Now do for how we perform/develop. Hmmm. That one's harder. We could say 'He did well in the exam.' meaning he performed well. Though 'do' could also be a general purpose verb there - a non specific verb. It's hard to think of an example for 'develop'. Maybe 'He's doing well with his piano lessons'. But again, 'do' could just indicate something non-specific. And I can think of examples with 'make' that mean perform/develop too. eg. She made a presentation (performed it). He's making good progress (developing his skills). So I think the second part of your hypothesis works ( make) but the first part (do)... not so much. Thanks for asking this.

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

Oh and something else AJ - make can also have the meaning of cause to happen - sometimes by force. We've made some other videos about that that you can see here: kzbin.info/aero/PLwrM2Wcy_MsD3QRd01T5kgDtzSnYWotkj

[@javierlopez1531]

Thank you very much indeed for your answer!

[@gabor6259]

This is hilarious! It MADE my day. (:

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

So glad you liked it Gabor. :-)

[@taherelsayed8044]

Thank you so much

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

You are very welcome as always Taher. Thanks for watching.

[@JeffMurdock]

This trips me up when learning Latin languages. There is only make, no do and then there's always when you have to use "what" to mark the difference between make/do.

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

Ah yes, it's tricky in reverse too. Thanks Jeff! :-)

[@ppascasl]

I love these videos!!!!!!

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

So glad to hear that Juan. Thank you!

[@aimannomourad6996]

Thank you for your great efforts ٠

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

You're very welcome Aimanno. Thanks for writing.

[@nicholasthorn1539]

As a general rule, "do" concerns itself with the process while "make" concerns itself with the end product, hence doing the cooking but making the cake

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

Thanks Nicholas.

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

Thanks Nicholas.

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

Thanks Nicholas.

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

Thanks Nicholas.

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

Thanks Nicholas.

[@swedtatiana9321]

Dear sir and madam! Dear Vicki and Jay! (not sure, if I can speak to you this way).I'm feally grateful for your encouragement. Your lessons are extremely helpful. Iwas just wondering, if you might be able to record a video about BINOMIALS in English and the situations they are used.

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

Hello Tatiana. Nice to meet you and please feel free to call us Vicki and Jay. So glad you like the video. Funnily enough, I have been creating a long list of binomials, in my 'videos to make' file. I haven't thought of a good way of teaching them yet, but I'll keep working on it and now you have given me more encouragement. Thank you for this suggestion.

[@sambfilm]

I just love your video. Grandma.

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

Thank you Samrat!

[@heiwapeace2721]

Samrat Barua grandma???? Be more polite and elegant. She is too young to be a grandma.

[@sambfilm]

I mentioned her "Grandma" with all my respect and love. It is a lovely way of mine. Hope you get it. Thank you. :-) @Heiwa wahei .

[@heiwapeace2721]

Samrat Barua in the west isn't usual say to someone: "grandma". So, if you say to a woman "grandma" you are making her feel old.

[@sambfilm]

Oh, I am Sorry. Thanks for enlightened me.

[@sherif2747]

great job thank you

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

You're very welcome Sherif. Thanks for writing.

[@msk273]

Genius!

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

Wow! Thank you so much !

[@ronnylp1450]

I there a video teaching about how to build a sentence ? At 0:53 you(Vicki) said” I got to do my hair first” in Germany you would put it that way” first I got to do my hair” every time I mess this up my British friend (John) looks to me like I’m talking like Yoda.

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

Hi Ronny. Ah, a video on word order... no I'm afraid we haven't made one of those. With time expressions like first and yesterday and tomorrow, we generally put them at the end of a sentence, but it's not a hard and fast rule. We could put them at the start too. They are more frequent in an end position though. Adverbs of frequency are a little different and we do have a video on that. kzbin.info/www/bejne/e3K9gWVte7p_apo I'm wondering whether to remake that video actually Ronny and add a bit where I talk about the word order there. Let me know if you think that would be a good idea.

[@VILK1N]

Thanks

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

So glad you like it Enderson. Thanks for writing.

[@wanchenxie8235]

I have a lot of housework to do when it is weekend. I want a girl friend who is adept in making cook. When I was a child, my mom told me that making bed was a good habit which I should have.

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

Hello Wanchen. Great examples! You've really grasped the good contexts with these. Here's how I'd say them. I have a lot of housework to do when it is THE weekend. I want a girl friend who is adept in making cook. I want a BOYFRIEND (one word) who CAN COOK. (Adept is rather formal and normally used for things that require skill. I'm not sure that cooking requires sufficient skill.) When I was a child, my mom taught me that making MY BED was a good habit which I should LEARN.

[@wanchenxie8235]

Thank you very much for your correcting.I got it!

[@mohammedaziz7581]

Make a decision to learn new things Do it better. Make yourself.

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

Good example! After yourself we'd need an object. e.g. Make yourself a cup of tea. Make yourself a sandwich. Make yourself at home.

[@ashubhai1]

Vicky I want to ask you one thing is that you like Cricket or Baseball. As I know that you are an English and Cricket is the most popular sport in England mostly in summer..

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

Hi Ashish. I'm not a big sports fan myself, but yes, cricket is very popular in the summer in the UK. I've heard it's REALLY popular in India too. Now over in the US, people don't play cricket much. There are one or two teams in Philadelphia, but the players usually come from the UK, Australia, India or Pakistan. Baseball is the most popular game in the summer here and in the winter it's American football. Oh and something else. Americans call the football we play in the UK soccer and instead of playing it in the winter, it's a summer sport here.

[@ashubhai1]

Simple English Videos Thanks Vicky for your reply. Yes Cricket is the most popular sport in the British commonwealth nations...

[@andrewm9513]

How did you get Fluency MC? :))))

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

Jason is a friend of ours and he used to live in New Jersey. He'd come down for a few days to visit us and we'd shoot videos together. We miss him now he is in France.

[@jhonfgutizar5319]

I didn't get clear the difference between HE DOES A LOT OF WORK FOR ME and HE MAKES A LOT OF WORK FOR ME..

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

Hello Jhon. Great question. He does a lot of work for me - performs tasks I want him to do and helps me. He makes a lot of work for me - creates tasks that I have to do - makes more jobs for me. Is that clear now?

[@mathscornertochinesecorner8058]

So which sentence is correct? 1. "The picture was done." or 2. "The picture was made." If both are correct, can you explain the differences?

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

Oh great question Maths Corner To Chinese Corner. It's hard to think of a context where either of these would be said. If you see something that could be a nice picture if you photographed it, then you might say "That would make a nice picture". But it's hard to think of a context where you would use the passive voice to talk about that. And we'd be more likely to take a photo or paint a picture. e.g. The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo Da Vinci.

[@lacrimacimpeanu]

I observed here in UK that people say: "I will go to make a picture". Is not corect to say: "I will go to take a picture"?

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

That's curious Lacrima. You've heard people saying make a picture when they mean take one?

[@marygebbie6611]

those nights when you fall asleep wearing your mic

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

Hope you made it to work the next day Mary. :-) Thanks for watching.

[@tavosj9059]

why you said "make your bed"?

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

Hi Tavo, "Make your bed" is the expression we use to describe getting the sheets, and covers and pillows arranged neatly after we get up after sleeping. Thanks for writing to us and thanks for watching our video.

[@umot6277]

I thought hoovering was American English

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

Yeah, it's funny isn't it because Hoover is a division of an American company. The word hoover became synonymous with vacuum cleaner in the UK and Ireland, but not in the US. So when I talk about hoovering the floor, Jay has to translate.

[@umot6277]

Simple English Videos oh, that's how it is... thank you for the explanation!

[@brainbrown6907]

Я не панимаю

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

Oh, so sorry to hear that Sergey. Have you tried clicking the cc button so you can read the captions?