Make vs. Do – English Grammar Exercises for B1
Choose the best option (A, B, C, or D) to complete each sentence. Read the text carefully, as all questions are part of an economic blog post summarizing a startup’s massive success.
Blog Post: How TechNova Defied the Odds This Year
1 This year, the global market was terrible, yet a small startup named TechNova still managed to ______ a massive profit.
(a) do
(b) making
(c) make
(d) produce
2 Most analysts agreed that it was incredibly difficult to ______ business under such strict economic conditions.
(a) do
(b) make
(c) doing
(d) deal
3 However, the founders of TechNova clearly understand how to ______ money even in a financial crisis.
(a) do
(b) make
(c) to make
(d) collect
4 In their first press conference, the CEO promised the investors that the company would ______ well despite the challenges.
(a) make
(b) doing
(c) perform
(d) do
5 Looking at their year-end financial report, it is obvious that the entire team ______ an outstanding job.
(a) made
(b) done
(c) did
(d) completed
6 Early in the year, the board of directors had to ______ a risky decision regarding their main product line.
(a) make
(b) do
(c) making
(d) take
7 Before launching the new software, the marketing team ______ extensive research on consumer behavior.
(a) made
(b) did
(c) doing
(d) ran
8 Based on that solid data, they successfully ______ a strategic plan that perfectly targeted young professionals.
(a) did
(b) to make
(c) wrote
(d) made
9 They were very careful and didn’t ______ any costly mistakes during the expensive production phase.
(a) make
(b) do
(c) making
(d) have
10 In fact, the management ______ a huge effort to cut down on unnecessary office expenses.
(a) did
(b) make
(c) made
(d) put
11 By the second quarter, everyone could see that TechNova was ______ incredible progress.
(a) doing
(b) making
(c) made
(d) building
12 Their competitors were completely shocked and couldn’t ______ anything to stop TechNova’s rapid growth.
(a) make
(b) doing
(c) act
(d) do
13 High inflation rates destroyed many businesses, but they didn’t ______ any harm to TechNova’s steady sales.
(a) do
(b) make
(c) did
(d) bring
14 The startup survived because they had ______ smart arrangements with their international suppliers months in advance.
(a) did
(b) making
(c) made
(d) organized
15 While most small companies just ______ their best to survive the winter, TechNova was thriving.
(a) make
(b) do
(c) doing
(d) try
16 Their innovative subscription model ______ a significant difference to their monthly revenue stream.
(a) did
(b) make
(c) created
(d) made
17 Moving forward, we must ______ sure that we learn valuable lessons from their flexible corporate strategy.
(a) make
(b) do
(c) makes
(d) keep
18 Even the strictest banks ______ an exception for TechNova and offered them low-interest expansion loans.
(a) did
(b) making
(c) made
(d) allowed
19 By the end of December, the founders hadn’t just survived; they had officially ______ a fortune!
(a) made
(b) did
(c) done
(d) won
20 If they keep this up, their revolutionary software will undoubtedly ______ wonders for the tech industry next year.
(a) make
(b) do
(c) to do
(d) bring
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (c) make
- Why it is correct: “Make a profit” is the standard financial collocation. Profit is a positive result or surplus value that is generated or created.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) “do” is a Common Mistake. (b) “making” is a Structural Error (requires the bare infinitive after “managed to”). (d) “produce” is a Meaning Trap (logical, but “make a profit” is the absolute fixed idiom).
2 (a) do
- Why it is correct: “Do business” refers to the ongoing activity, operation, or execution of professional trade.
- Distractor Analysis: (b) “make” is a Common Mistake. (c) “doing” is a Structural Error. (d) “deal” is a Meaning Trap.
3 (b) make
- Why it is correct: “Make money” means to generate wealth or earn an income. You are producing a financial result.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) “do” is a Common Mistake. (c) “to make” is a Structural Error (the “to” is already before the gap: “how to ___”). (d) “collect” is a Meaning Trap.
4 (d) do
- Why it is correct: “Do well” refers to performing successfully in an activity or business.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) “make” is a Common Mistake. (b) “doing” is a Structural Error after the modal “would”. (c) “perform” is a Meaning Trap.
5 (c) did
- Why it is correct: “Do a job” refers to executing a task, role, or professional duty.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) “made” is a Common Mistake. (b) “done” is a Structural Error (requires Past Simple here, not the past participle). (d) “completed” is a Meaning Trap.
6 (a) make
- Why it is correct: “Make a decision” refers to the mental creation of a choice or business strategy.
- Distractor Analysis: (b) “do” is a Common Mistake. (c) “making” is a Structural Error after “had to”. (d) “take” is a Meaning Trap (used in some languages, but unnatural in English here).
7 (b) did
- Why it is correct: “Do research” refers to the active process of studying and gathering data.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) “made” is a Common Mistake. (c) “doing” is a Structural Error. (d) “ran” is a Meaning Trap.
8 (d) made
- Why it is correct: “Make a plan” means to produce, formulate, or draft a new strategy.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) “did” is a Common Mistake. (b) “to make” is a Structural Error. (c) “wrote” is a Meaning Trap (you can write a document, but you make a plan).
9 (a) make
- Why it is correct: “Make a mistake” refers to producing an error or financial miscalculation.
- Distractor Analysis: (b) “do” is a Common Mistake. (c) “making” is a Structural Error after “didn’t”. (d) “have” is a Meaning Trap.
10 (c) made
- Why it is correct: “Make an effort” means actively generating the energy to accomplish a goal.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) “did” is a Common Mistake. (b) “make” is a Structural Error (requires Past Simple “made” for a completed action). (d) “put” is a Meaning Trap (you “put effort into”, not “put an effort”).
11 (b) making
- Why it is correct: “Make progress” is the collocation for moving forward, improving, or creating advancement.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) “doing” is a Common Mistake. (c) “made” is a Structural Error (requires Present Participle “making” for Past Continuous). (d) “building” is a Meaning Trap.
12 (d) do
- Why it is correct: “Do anything” is used for general, non-specific actions.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) “make” is a Common Mistake. (b) “doing” is a Structural Error. (c) “act” is a Meaning Trap.
13 (a) do
- Why it is correct: “Do harm” is the standard collocation for causing negative impacts or damage.
- Distractor Analysis: (b) “make” is a Common Mistake. (c) “did” is a Structural Error after the auxiliary “didn’t”. (d) “bring” is a Meaning Trap.
14 (c) made
- Why it is correct: “Make arrangements” means to produce preparations or organize business deals.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) “did” is a Common Mistake. (b) “making” is a Structural Error. (d) “organized” is a Meaning Trap (“organized arrangements” is redundant).
15 (b) do
- Why it is correct: “Do your best” means to perform an action with maximum effort.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) “make” is a Common Mistake. (c) “doing” is a Structural Error. (d) “try” is a Meaning Trap (you “try your best”, but here “do” strictly contrasts with “make” in the grammar point).
16 (d) made
- Why it is correct: “Make a difference” means to create a significant change or impact on a situation.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) “did” is a Common Mistake. (b) “make” is a Structural Error (needs Past Simple). (c) “created” is a Meaning Trap (logical, but not the fixed idiom).
17 (a) make
- Why it is correct: “Make sure” is a fixed phrase meaning to confirm or guarantee something.
- Distractor Analysis: (b) “do” is a Common Mistake. (c) “makes” is a Structural Error after the modal “must”. (d) “keep” is a Meaning Trap.
18 (c) made
- Why it is correct: “Make an exception” means to actively create a special rule that bypasses standard policy.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) “did” is a Common Mistake. (b) “making” is a Structural Error. (d) “allowed” is a Meaning Trap.
19 (a) made
- Why it is correct: “Make a fortune” is an idiom meaning to acquire or generate a very large amount of wealth.
- Distractor Analysis: (b) “did” is a Common Mistake. (c) “done” is a Structural Error (wrong verb entirely). (d) “won” is a Meaning Trap (you win the lottery, but you make a fortune in business).
20 (b) do
- Why it is correct: “Do wonders” is an idiom meaning to have a highly beneficial effect.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) “make” is a Common Mistake. (c) “to do” is a Structural Error after the modal “will”. (d) “bring” is a Meaning Trap.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
1 “MAKE” focuses on CREATION & FINANCIAL RESULTS:
In the business world, when you generate something that wasn’t there before—especially money, plans, and growth—you make it. Money and profit are the “fruits” of your labor.
- Core Rule: Use “Make” when you construct, produce a result, or generate wealth.
- Business Examples: make a profit, make money, make a fortune, make progress, make a plan, make a decision, make an effort, make a difference.
2 “DO” focuses on OPERATIONS, TASKS & IMPACTS:
You use “do” when talking about the daily operations of a company, the execution of strategies, or the impact an event has on the market.
- Core Rule: Use “Do” for executing tasks, ongoing activities, general actions, and the positive/negative impacts of an action.
- Business Examples: do business (daily operations), do well (performance), do research (task), do a job (task), do harm (negative impact), do wonders (positive impact).
The Startup Golden Rule: First, you DO the research and DO your best. Only then can you MAKE a plan, MAKE a difference, and finally… MAKE a massive profit!