Make my homework: make, do, and which is which

Objective & content

This Grammar Fix video (about 3 minutes 30) fixes one mix-up: make and do. Freya and Cody show it in both directions. The rule: make is for creating something (a cake, a decision, a mistake); do is for an activity or a task (homework, the dishes, your best). They add everyday phrases: make friends, make money, and do a favour, do exercise, do business. Students repeat two sentences with the hosts, then play a three-round game.

Pedagogical guide

French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Polish and Dutch speakers all make this mistake in at least one direction. French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese have one verb for both (faire, hacer, fare, fazer), so those learners mix them both ways. German and Dutch speakers mostly use make for activities like homework. Polish speakers mostly use do where make is needed, because Polish has a separate verb for homework. Watch for overcorrection: once students learn that make is for creating, some use make for a favour. Round three of the game is built to catch this. The video says the wrong sentences only once. Do the same: give the rule, do not drill the errors.

Suggested procedure

1. Before (2 min). Write a cake, a decision, homework and the dishes on the board. Ask which two you create and which two are a task.
2. Watch (3 min). Play the video once. Students repeat aloud when Cody says "Say them with me": I do my homework. I made a mistake.
3. Game (3 min). Play the game again. Both sentences are shown and said. Pause at each thinking beat ("Have a think...") and ask the class to vote. After round three, ask why a favour takes do.
4. After (4 min). Write the six phrases from the end of the video in mixed order. In pairs, students sort them into a make column and a do column.

Materials & prerequisites

• The video, a screen and sound for the whole class.
• The example phrases are at about A2 level. Students need my, a and a few everyday nouns.

Assessment & extensions

Give students new nouns: a plan, a call, an effort, a promise. They sort each into the make or do column, then write one true sentence about their week for each.