Do and make

We often use do with certain nouns to describe activities, or things that have an effect on people:
• I can't wash up -I have to do my homework.
• The campaign may have done more harm than good.
Other nouns commonly used with do include business, damage, (an) exercise, (somebody) a favour, (no) good (or not (do) any good), housework, (somebody) an injury, a job, research.
In informal English, we can use do instead of another verb to talk about certain jobs:
• Can you do the shoes before the children go to school? (= clean the shoes)
• Aren't you going to do your hair? It looks untidy. (= comb/brush your hair)
We can also use do instead of, for example: arrange (flowers), cook or make (a curry), cut (nails, hair), make (beds), tidy (a cupboard, a desk, a garden).
We also use do when we talk about general or indefinite rather than particular activities:
• I think David has done something to the computer. I can't get it to work.
• Did you do anything about the broken window this morning?
We sometimes specify particular actions after first introducing the actions in general with do:
• I did a huge amount yesterday. I finished the report, I ordered some new textbooks...
We use do with an -ing form as a noun when we talk about jobs and leisure activities. A word or phrase such as the, some, a bit of, a lot of, etc. is usually used before the noun:
• I normally do the ironing while I'm watching TV.
• He's hoping to do a bit of skiing while he's visiting Bernard in Austria.
We also use do to talk about cleaning, cooking, gardening, shopping, washing (up).
Compare:
• I'm going to paint. and • I'm going to do some painting.
• I'm going to read some books, (but not I'm going to do some book reading.)
Normally, if there is an object (e.g. 'some books') after the verb, we can't make a sentence with a similar meaning with do ... -ing. However, we can talk in this way about bird watching, letter-writing, note-taking, sightseeing.
To talk about constructing or creating something we use make rather than do:
• The firm I work for makes children's clothes.
• I cut out the pieces, but she made the model all by herself.
• I made some fresh coffee and gave her a cup.
We also use make with certain nouns, particularly when we are talking about an action that someone performs:
• Try not to make a noise\
• She made an offer for my car that I accepted.
Other nouns commonly used with make include an announcement, an application, an arrangement, an attempt, a choice, a comment, a contribution, a decision, a difference, a discovery, an enquiry, an excuse, a habit of doing something, a list, a journey, a mistake, money, a (phone) call, a plan, a point, a promise, a remark, a sound, a speech, a suggestion.
We can use make to say how successful someone was or would be in a particular job or position, or how successful something was or would be for a particular purpose:
• He would probably have made an excellent prime minister.
• That old table would (or will) make a good place to put the television.