To make or to do, that is the question

Title separator

Vocabulary - make and do collocations

make and do collocations

LESSON OVERVIEW

With this worksheet, we want to deal with make and do as these two verbs are often confused by students. We focus here first on make and do collocations and then on more demanding fixed phrases.

B2 / Upper Intermediate30 minStandard LessonPremium Plan

BASIC COLLOCATIONS

The worksheet starts with the more basic stuff that your B2 students should already know. First, they have to fill in the table with the correct words to create make and do collocations. Next, there is some free practice and speaking tasks to reinforce these collocations. Students choose five phrases from the previous exercise and write questions with them. Then, they work in pairs and ask each other the questions they’ve written.

FIXED PHRASES

Next, we move to fixed phrases with the verbs make and do. Students will have to decide which verb to use to create these phrases and identify their meanings from the context. In this task, we want students to learn phrases such as do without, do somebody good, make sense, make room for, make a killing, etc.

Finally, the worksheet ends a short speaking task which includes new phrases. Students work in pairs and discuss the points we prepared.

RELATED LESSON PLANS

This worksheet goes well with our lesson plan:

WORKSHEETS

Comments

Title separator

Leave a Reply

  1. DaveMar

    This lesson is mega useful, ESPECIALLY for Italian, Spanish and Portuguese students!

    1. Stan

      Great to hear that! It’s a good exercise for Polish students as well. Basically, ‘do’ and ‘make’ translate to the same verb in Polish so the difference between those two verbs in English is not so obvious for Polish learners.

  2. Betty Sz

    Very nice lesson , though I would say that it is a lower level – B1 or B1+ perhaps. Most of the phrases are spoken phrases that even some A2 students can recognise.

    1. Stan

      Thanks for the comment! I’d say that the first task is a bit easier but the phrases in the second part of the lesson are not phrases for A2/B1. All in all, the whole point of this worksheet is to work on collocations and this should be particularly useful to nationals from countries where ‘make’ and ‘do’ translate to the same word in their L1.

Browse other materials recommended for you

Title separator
commonly confused words
B1 / Intermediate | B2 / Upper Intermediate
Standard Lesson 60 min

Don’t let these words confuse you!

General

Practise commonly confused words with this lesson! Students listen to a conversation between friends, read a story about life in a new country and share their thoughts. They also play two truths and one lie.

ESL lesson on confidence
B2 / Upper Intermediate
Standard Lesson 60 min

Building confidence

General

Talk about gaining confidence with this lesson! Students practise collocations related to self-esteem, watch a video with tips to boost confidence and discuss behaviours in different social situations.

talk about the impact of nature
B2 / Upper Intermediate | C1 / Advanced
Flipped Lesson 60 min

Nature at your fingertips

General

Talk about the benefits of nature with this lesson! Students explore adjectives, practise phrasal verbs and watch a video on nature’s calming effects. They also discuss the benefits of nature without visiting it and share their experiences.

talking about friendships
B2 / Upper Intermediate
Standard Lesson 60 min

Different flavours of friends

General

Discuss friendships with this lesson! Students practise phrases to talk about friendships, watch a video on how some friendships last and work with expressions for generalisation. They also share their experiences and express their preferences in social interactions.

modal verbs of permission and obligation
B1 / Intermediate | B2 / Upper Intermediate
Standard Lesson 60 min

Old enough to decide

General Grammar

Talk about age limits with this lesson! Students practise modal verbs, watch a video on the voting age in New Zealand and discuss age laws in different countries. They also share their experiences.

vocabulary for discussing films
B1 / Intermediate | B2 / Upper Intermediate
Flipped Lesson 60 min

The film genre I can’t stand is…

General Lifestyle

Talk about films with this lesson! Students learn vocabulary for discussing films, explore a video about sci-fi and share their opinions and preferences. They also recommend something new for people to watch.

emotion adjectives
B1 / Intermediate | B2 / Upper Intermediate
Standard Lesson 60 min

Feel your feelings

General

Talk about emotions with this lesson! Students learn and practise emotion adjectives, watch a film trailer and discuss tweets about the film Inside Out 2. They also discuss emotions triggered by different experiences.

speaking about art and activism
B1 / Intermediate | B2 / Upper Intermediate
Speaking Class 45 min / 60 min

Artivism

General

Share opinions on art and activism with this lesson! Students watch a video on an art exhibition, explore examples of artivism and talk about different kinds of art. They can also do an optional vocabulary activity to review useful phrases!

ESL lesson on superstitions
B1 / Intermediate | B2 / Upper Intermediate
Flipped Lesson 60 min

Good or bad luck?

General

Explore the topic of superstitions with this lesson! Students practise useful vocabulary, talk about their personal views and experiences, and watch a video about common superstitions. They also practise phrases to express certainty or doubt!

Show more lessons

Questions

Title separator

Is there a minimum subscription period if I choose a monthly subscription?

No, there's no minimum required number of subscription months. You can cancel any time you want. Basically, you can sign up and then cancel your subscription the next day, which will mean you have access for 1 month and won't be charged again.

What currencies can I pay in for my subscription?

Our default currency is USD (American dollar), but you can also pay in EUR (euro), GBP (British pound sterling) or PLN (Polish zloty). You can change the currency you want to pay in at the Pricing page before selecting a subscription plan.

How can I edit an e-lesson plan?

You can get your own editable copy of an e-lesson plan and make changes to it. To do so, either (1) make a copy of it on your Google Drive (preferable method) or (2) download it in a Powerpoint format (but formatting might be a bit off so we can’t guarantee that it will work well).
Read more FAQ
Title separator

ESL Brains

Forgot password?
or continue with