Hello, there!

Make or do are translated into Spanish as hacer. However, when these verbs come with certain words, they are translated using another verb.

I was thinking about this so I came up with a list of English collocations and their correspondent in Spanish – I wish I had this when I was studying Spanish!

Check it out!

To do

To do a favor – hacer un favor
To do a job – hacer un trabajo
To do a number – hacer un numerito
To do a talk – hacer una presentación oral / dar una conferencia
To do an exercise – hacer un ejercicio
To do an experiment – hacer un experimento
To do evil – hacer (el) mal
To do good – hacer (el) bien
To do harm – lastimar
To do homework – hacer los deberes
To do housework – hacer las tareas del hogar
To do justice – hacer justicia
To do little – hacer poco
To do much – hacer mucho
To do one’s best – hacer lo mejor posible
To do some exercise – hacer ejercicio (físico)
To do some work – trabajar
To do something – hacer algo
To do the shopping – hacer la compra
To do the the dishes – lavar los platos
To do well – hacerlo bien

Hot Learning Tip!

You don’t need to learn these by heart. When you are reading a text or doing a listening exercise (or listening to songs, watching movies), pay close attention to how these collocations are used. Try and write down the context they were used in an if possible, the sentence too!

To make

To make a bet – apostar
To make a cake – hacer un pastel
To make a cancellation – cancelar algo
To make a complaint – hacer una queja
To make a decision – tomar una decisión
To make a fortune – hacer una fortuna
To make a hole – hacer un agujero
To make a list – hacer una lista
To make a mistake – cometer un error
To make a noise – hacer ruido
To make a proposal – hacer una propuesta
To make a speech – hacer un discurso
To make a suggestion – hacer una sugerencia
To make a wish – pedir un deseo
To make an appointment – organizar una cita/reunión
To make an effort – hacer un esfuerzo
To make an exception – hacer una excepción
To make an investment – hacer una inversión
To make an offer – hacer una oferta
To make certain/sure – asegurarse
To make faces – hacer muecas
To make fun of – burlarse de
To make money – hacer dinero
To make plans – hacer planes
To make progress – hacer progresos
To make tea – preparar té
To make the bed – hacer la cama
To make use of – hacer uso de
To make war – hacer la guerra

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