Make or do? The choice French speakers get wrong because faire is one verb
In French, one verb does the work of two: faire covers both English make and do. Faire une erreur, faire ses devoirs, faire du sport, faire une présentation: same verb every time. So when French speakers reach for English, they guess, and the guess is often wrong: "do a mistake", "make my homework", "make a meeting". English splits faire by collocation, not by logic, which means there is no rule you can reason your way to. You have to learn the pairs. Below is a collocation map of the cases that come up most in professional English, each one showing the French-calqued version that sounds off and the natural English fix.
make a decision vs do a decision
The French trap French has only faire for both make and do, and French actually says prendre une décision ('take a decision'), so French speakers land on 'do a decision' or 'take a decision', never the correct 'make'.
It is always make a decision. Learn it as one chunk. Same family: make a choice, make an offer, make a mistake, make progress, make an effort, make an appointment.
✗ ✗ We need to do a decision before Friday.✓ ✓ We need to **make a decision** before Friday.
✗ ✗ The board will take a decision next week.✓ ✓ The board will **make a decision** next week.
make a mistake vs do a mistake
The French trap Faire une erreur uses faire, and because faire feels closer to 'do', French speakers default to 'do a mistake'. English fixes this noun to make.
Always make a mistake, never 'do a mistake'. If you slip in a meeting, say "Sorry, I made a mistake."
✗ ✗ I did a mistake in the report.✓ ✓ I **made a mistake** in the report.
✗ ✗ Everyone does mistakes sometimes.✓ ✓ Everyone **makes mistakes** sometimes.
do my homework vs make my homework
The French trap Faire ses devoirs is the natural French phrase, and since the result of 'make' feels like 'producing' something, French speakers wrongly produce 'make my homework'. English pairs homework with do.
It is do your homework (and do the research, do an exercise). In a work context the same logic gives "I'll do some research and get back to you."
✗ ✗ I still have to make my homework tonight.✓ ✓ I still have to **do my homework** tonight.
✗ ✗ Can you make the research on this client?✓ ✓ Can you **do the research** on this client?
do business vs make business
The French trap Faire des affaires and faire du commerce both use faire, so French speakers reach for 'make business'. English locks business to do.
Use do business (with someone, in a market). Note the contrast: you do business but you make a deal and make a profit. Different nouns, different verbs.
✗ ✗ We make business with three German suppliers.✓ ✓ We **do business** with three German suppliers.
✗ ✗ It was a pleasure to make business with you.✓ ✓ It was a pleasure to **do business** with you.
make a presentation vs do a meeting
The French trap Faire une réunion, faire une présentation: one French verb covers both events, so French speakers say 'make a meeting' or 'do a meeting' at random. English uses have or hold a meeting, and give or make a presentation.
For meetings: have a meeting or hold a meeting, never 'make/do a meeting'. For presentations: give a presentation or make a presentation. Say "Let's have a meeting on Tuesday and I'll give the presentation."
✗ ✗ Can we make a meeting tomorrow morning?✓ ✓ Can we **have a meeting** tomorrow morning?
✗ ✗ I will do a presentation to the client.✓ ✓ I will **give a presentation** to the client.
do me a favour vs make me a favour
The French trap French faire une faveur (and rendre un service) uses faire, which feels like 'make' to many French speakers, so 'make me a favour' slips out. English pairs favour with do.
It is do someone a favour. A handy office line: "Could you do me a favour and forward that email?"
✗ ✗ Can you make me a favour?✓ ✓ Can you **do me a favour**?
✗ ✗ She made me a big favour last week.✓ ✓ She **did me a big favour** last week.
| Use | When you mean |
|---|---|
| do a decision | not English; the French-calqued guess |
| do a mistake | not English; a direct calque of faire une erreur |
| make my homework | not English; a calque of faire ses devoirs |
| make business | not English; a calque from faire des affaires |
| do a meeting | not English; 'do/make a meeting' both calque faire une réunion |
| make me a favour | not English; a calque of faire une faveur / rendre un service |
Common questions
Why do French speakers confuse make and do in English?
Because French uses a single verb, faire, where English splits into two. Faire une erreur, faire ses devoirs and faire des affaires all use the same verb, so when French speakers switch to English they have to guess which of make or do to use, and the guess is often wrong. English chooses by fixed collocation, not by logic.
Is it 'make a decision' or 'do a decision'?
Always 'make a decision'. 'Do a decision' is not English. There is an extra trap here: French says prendre une décision, literally 'take a decision', so French speakers also say 'take a decision', which is also wrong in standard English. The fixed phrase is make a decision.
Is there a rule for when to use make versus do?
There is a rough tendency, not a rule. Make leans toward producing a result (make a decision, make a mistake, make an offer, make progress) and do leans toward an activity or task (do homework, do business, do research, do the dishes). The tendency helps, but plenty of pairs break it, so the reliable method is to memorise each verb plus noun as one chunk.
Keep practising
Sources
- What's the difference between 'do' and 'make'?, Lingoda. In many languages including French a single verb (faire) covers both English make and do, which is why French learners say things like 'make homework' or 'do a mistake' by direct translation.
- Do vs Make - difference (A2), Test-English. Make collocates with results (make a decision, make a mistake, make an offer) while do collocates with activities and tasks (do homework, do business, do research); these are fixed pairings learners must memorise.
- Learner English: A Teacher's Guide to Interference and other Problems, Swan, M. & Smith, B. (eds.), Cambridge University Press. French speakers transfer the structure and collocations of French onto English (L1 interference), a well-documented source of error for this learner group.
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