DO OR MAKE?????

GRAMMAR WORKSHOP:
DO OR MAKE?

'Do' for Activities

Use the verb 'do' to express daily activities or jobs. Notice that these are usually activities that produce no physical object.

do homework
do housework
do the ironing

'Do' for General Ideas

Use the verb 'do' when speaking about things in general. In other words, when we do not exactly name an activity. This form is often used with the words 'something, nothing, anything, everything, etc.'

I'm not doing anything today.
He does everything for his mother.
She's doing nothing at the moment.

Important Expressions with 'Do'

There are a number of standard expressions that take the verb 'do'. These are standard collocations (verb + noun combinations) that are used in English.

do one's best
do good
do harm

'Make' for Constructing, Building, Creating

Use 'make' to express an activity that creates something that you can touch.

make food
make a cup of tea / coffee
make a mess

Important Expressions with 'Make'

There are a number of standard expressions that take the verb 'make'. In a number of cases the verb 'do' seems more appropriate. These are standard collocations (verb + noun combinations) that are used in English.

make plans
make an exception
make arrangements
make a telephone call
make a decision
make a mistake
make noise
make money
make an excuse
make an effort

Write: DO or MAKE… J

1. If you want to buy that car, I'm sure we can _____ a deal.

2. Let's go out tonight and _____ the town!

3. I _____ an appointment to visit my doctor yesterday.

4. Excuse me, could you _____ me a favor and watch my bags for a moment?

5. I'm afraid I can't come. I'm going to _____ my homework after school.

6. How much money does your father _____?

7. Tom's _____ a phone call at the moment, he'll be back shortly.

8. He really doesn't want to _____ that decision.

9. I like _____ business with Jack.

10. I usually _____ the cleaning on Saturday Morning.

11. Do you ____ your bed every morning?

12. Sue cooks but I _____ the dishes.

13. I usually _____ about 50 sit ups in the morning

14. Let's _____ a date for the 15th.

15. I'd be happy if you would _____ the honors.

16. John _____ everything by hand - he is amazing!

Countable / Uncountable Nouns

Countable Nouns

Countable nouns are easy to recognize. They are things that we can count. For
example: "pen". We can count pens. We can have one, two, three or more pens. Here are some more countable nouns:

• dog, cat, animal, man, person
• bottle, box, litre
• coin, note, dollar
• cup, plate, fork
• table, chair, suitcase, bag

Countable nouns can be singular or plural:
My dog is playing. / My dogs are hungry.
We can use the indefinite article a/an with countable nouns:
A dog is an animal.

When a countable noun is singular, we must use a word like a/the/my/this with it:
I want an orange. (not I want orange. / Where is my bottle? (not Where is bottle?)

When a countable noun is plural, we can use it alone:
I like oranges. / Bottles can break.

We can use some and any with countable nouns:
've got some dollars. / Have you got any pens?

We can use a few and many with countable nouns:
I've got a few dollars. / I haven't got many pens.

"People" is countable. "People" is the plural of "person". We can count people:
There is one person here / There are three people here.

Uncountable Nouns

Uncountable nouns are substances, concepts etc that we cannot divide into separate elements. We cannot "count" them. For example, we cannot count "milk". We can count "bottles of milk" or "litres of milk", but we cannot count "milk" itself. Here are some more uncountable nouns:

• music, art, love, happiness
• advice, information, news
• furniture,
• rice, sugar, butter, water
• electricity, gas, power
• money

We usually treat uncountable nouns as singular. We use a singular verb. For example:
This news is very important. / Your luggage looks heavy.

We do not usually use the indefinite article a/an with uncountable nouns. We cannot say "an information" or "a music". But we can say a something of:
a piece of news / a bottle of water / a grain of rice
We can use some and any with uncountable nouns:
I've got some money. / Have you got any rice?

We can use a little and much with uncountable nouns:
I've got a little money. / I haven't got much rice.

Uncountable nouns are also called "mass nouns".

THE ACTIVY

1 There ______ enough beer for everyone to have some.
isn't
aren't

2 There ______ enough seats for everybody. Some people will have to sit on the floor or stand!
isn't
aren't

3 There ______ plenty of sugar but we need some more coffee.
is
are

4 No need to hurry. There ______ plenty of time.
is
are

5 How ______ money have you got?
much
many

6 How ______ people are coming?
much
many

7 I don't have ______ time to speak to you.
much
many

8 There wasn't ______ traffic on the road.
much
many

9 There ______ a lot of people who are interested in what you are doing.
is
are

10 ______ there a lot of hotels in Berne?
is
are

11 There ______ only a little accommodation available on site at the conference.
is
are

12 I need ______ information.
a
some

13 How ______ work do you do at week-ends?
much
many

14 We haven't heard ______ news of him since he left the company.
much
many

15 The police ______ looking for him.
is
are

16 Mathematics ______ not very easy to understand.
is
are

17 The children ______ finishing school early today.
is
are

18 His clothes ______ very old-fashioned.
is
are

19 Would you like some more meat? Yes, I'd love ______ .
one
some

20 Cut this off with ______ scissors.
a
some

Adjectives and Adverbs

Adjectives and Adverbs

Definition - Adjectives are words that describe nouns or pronouns. They may come before the word they describe (That is a cute puppy.) or they may follow the word they describe (That puppy is cute.).

Definition - Adverbs are words that modify everything but nouns and pronouns. They modify adjectives, verbs, and other adverbs. A word is an adverb if it answers how, when, or where.

The only adverbs that cause grammatical problems are those that answer the question how, so focus on these.

Examples: He speaks slowly.

Answers the question how.
He speaks very slowly.
Answers the question how slowly.

Rule 1. Generally, if a word answers the question how, it is an adverb. If it can have an -ly added to it, place it there.

Examples: She thinks slow/slowly.

She thinks how? slowly.
She is a slow/slowly thinker.

Slow does not answer how, so no -ly is attached. Slow is an adjective here.
She thinks fast/fastly.

Fast answers the question how, so it is an adverb. But fast never has an -ly attached to it.
We performed bad/badly.

Badly describes how we performed.

Rule 2. A special -ly rule applies when four of the senses - taste, smell, look, feel - are the verbs. Do not ask if these senses answer the question how to determine if -ly should be attached. Instead, ask if the sense verb is being used actively. If so, use the -ly.

Examples: Roses smell sweet/sweetly.

Do the roses actively smell with noses? No, so no -ly.
The woman looked angry/angrily.

Did the woman actively look with eyes or are we describing her appearance? We are only describing appearance, so no -ly.
The woman looked angry/angrily at the paint splotches.

Here the woman did actively look with eyes, so the -ly is added.

She feels bad/badly about the news.

She is not feeling with fingers, so no -ly.
Good vs. Well

Rule 3. The word good is an adjective, while well is an adverb.
Examples: You did a good job.

Good describes the job.
You did the job well.

Well answers how.
You smell good today.

Describes your odor, not how you smell with your nose, so follow with the adjective.
You smell well for someone with a cold.

You are actively smelling with a nose here, so follow with the adverb.

Rule 4. When referring to health, use well rather than good.

Examples: I do not feel well.

You do not look well today.

NOTE: You may use good with feel when you are not referring to health.

Example: I feel good about my decision to learn Spanish.

Rule 5. A common error in using adjectives and adverbs arises from using the wrong form for comparison. For instance, to describe one thing we would say poor, as in, "She is poor." To compare two things, we should say poorer, as in, "She is the poorer of the two women." To compare more than two things, we should say poorest, as in, "She is the poorest of them all."

Examples: One Two Three or More

sweet sweeter sweetest

bad worse worst

efficient* more efficient* most efficient*

*Usually with words of three or more syllables, don't add -er or -est. Use more or most in front of the words.

Rule 6. Never drop the -ly from an adverb when using the comparison form.

Correct: She spoke quickly.
She spoke more quickly than he did.

Incorrect: She spoke quicker than he did.

Correct: Talk quietly.
Talk more quietly.

Incorrect: Talk quieter.

Rule 7. When this, that, these, and those are followed by nouns, they are adjectives. When they appear without a noun following them, they are pronouns.

Examples: This house is for sale.
This is an adjective here.
This is for sale.

This is a pronoun here.

Rule 8. This and that are singular, whether they are being used as adjectives or as pronouns. This points to something nearby while that points to something "over there."
Examples: This dog is mine.
That dog is hers.
This is mine.
That is hers.

Rule 9. These and those are plural, whether they are being used as adjectives or as pronouns. These points to something nearby while those points to something "over there."

Examples: These babies have been smiling for a long time.
These are mine.
Those babies have been crying for hours.
Those are yours.

Rule 10. Use than to show comparison. Use then to answer the question when.

Examples: I would rather go skiing than rock climbing.
First we went skiing; then we went rock climbing.

Adjectives and Adverbs Quiz

1. Choose the correct sentence.
A) Come quick or we will miss our bus.
B) Come quickly or we will miss our bus.

2. Choose the correct sentence.
A) You drive so slow that I am afraid someone will hit the car from behind.
B) You drive so slowly that I am afraid someone will hit the car from behind.

3. Choose the correct sentence.
A) I have never been more sure of anything in my life.
B) I have never been more surer of anything in my life.

4. Choose the correct sentence.
A) Ella was the best of the two sisters at gymnastics.
B) Ella was the better of the two sisters at gymnastics.

5. Choose the correct sentence.
A) You did that somersault so well.
B) You did that somersault so good.

6. Choose the correct sentence.
A) Rochelle felt badly about forgetting Devlin's birthday.
B) Rochelle felt bad about forgetting Devlin's birthday.

7. Choose the correct sentence.
A) This is the worse oil spill I have ever seen.
B) This is the worst oil spill I have ever seen.

8. Choose the correct sentence.
A) The jasmine has bloomed and smells very sweet.
B) The jasmine has bloomed and smells very sweetly.

9. Choose the correct sentence.
A) You look angry. What did I do?
B) You look angrily. What did I do?

10. Choose the correct sentence.
A) She looked suspicious at the man wearing the trench coat.
B) She looked suspiciously at the man wearing the trench coat.