make/do
meɪk / duː
Make leaves something behind; do clears something away
The picture An empty hand that suddenly holds a new thing is make; a pile of waiting work getting smaller one item at a time is do. MAKE brings something into existence; DO works through what is already there.
Where the picture shows up in make/do
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something new appears
I'll make a copy for you right now.
aɪl meɪk ə ˈkɒpi fɔː juː raɪt naʊ
I'll make a copy for you right now.
A warm sheet of paper sliding out of the copier into your hand, where a second ago there was none
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a pile gets cleared
Can you do the dishes before you go home?
kən juː duː ðə ˈdɪʃɪz bɪˈfɔː juː ɡəʊ həʊm
Can you do the dishes before you go home?
Plates lifted one by one out of a full sink until the sink is empty
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a mistake that stays on the page
I think I made a mistake on this form.
aɪ θɪŋk aɪ meɪd ə mɪˈsteɪk ɒn ðɪs fɔːm
I think I made a mistake on this form.
Wrong handwriting sitting in a box on the form, staying there however hard you rub
Things that come into existence — a mistake, a decision, a plan, a noise — take make.
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work waiting to be got through
I still have a lot of work to do today.
aɪ stɪl hæv ə lɒt əv wɜːk tə duː təˈdeɪ
I still have a lot of work to do today.
A list on the desk with several lines still not crossed off
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both in one sentence
She made a phone call and I did the paperwork.
ʃiː meɪd ə fəʊn kɔːl ənd aɪ dɪd ðə ˈpeɪpəwɜːk
She made a phone call and I did the paperwork.
One person creating a call that didn't exist, the person beside her working down a stack of forms page by page
make a call creates the call; do the paperwork gets through the forms already sitting there.
All of it in one picture
A sheet of paper sliding out of the copier that wasn't there a second ago is make; a sink of plates washed down to nothing is do. Wrong words left sitting in a form are a mistake you made; the lines still un-crossed on your list are work to do. Even inside one sentence it splits — the person creating a call that didn't exist makes it, the person thinning out a stack of forms does it. Ask only whether something new is left behind, or a pile got smaller.