B2
Vocabulary
Brazil

In 1958, a 17-year-old named Pelé stepped onto a pitch in Sweden and made history. He became the youngest player ever to score in a FIFA World Cup final — a record that stands to this day. But here is the English teacher’s question: why do we say make history and not do history? And why do sport, but make progress? Why do damage, but make an effort?

The MAKE vs DO puzzle is one of the most persistent challenges for B2 learners, and especially for Spanish speakers, where a single verb — hacer — does the work of both. The good news: there are real patterns beneath the surface. And once you see them through the lens of Brazil — its football, its Carnival, its capoeira, its food — they start to feel natural rather than arbitrary.

You may have seen the B1 guide to MAKE and DO collocations, which covers the foundations. This post goes further, focusing on the richer, more nuanced expressions you need at B2 — the ones that will lift your writing and speaking from correct to fluent.

The core logic: why MAKE, why DO?

The guiding principle

MAKE suggests creating, producing, causing, or bringing something into existence — an idea, an impression, a result, a product, a change.

DO suggests performing, carrying out, or completing an activity — especially tasks, work, duties, or routines where the focus is on the action itself rather than any specific thing produced.

⚠ This rule is a guide, not a guarantee. English collocations are partly idiomatic and fixed by convention, so the safest strategy is to learn the chunks whole, not to rely entirely on logic.

Key MAKE collocations at B2

At B1 you learned the everyday basics: make a cake, make a phone call, make a mistake. At B2 you need a richer repertoire — expressions used in professional, academic, and social contexts:

Collocation Meaning & Notes Quick example
make progress Improve or advance. Note: uncountable — never a progress. The team is making real progress in reducing emissions.
make an effort Try hard; invest energy into something. She made a conscious effort to learn Portuguese.
make an impression Affect how someone thinks or feels about you. He made a strong impression on the casting director.
make a speech Deliver a prepared talk to an audience. The coach made an emotional speech before the final.
make use of Exploit or take advantage of a resource. Brazil makes excellent use of its biodiversity.
make a profit / loss Earn or lose money in business. The samba school made a small profit from ticket sales.
make an exception Treat one case differently from the normal rule. They agreed to make an exception for the late application.
make a contribution (to) Give or add something of real value. Capoeira has made a huge contribution to world culture.
make amends Repair a wrong or say sorry through action, not just words. After the defeat, the team made amends with a brilliant second leg.
make the most of Get the maximum benefit from a situation or opportunity. Visitors should make the most of Carnival season in Rio.

Key DO collocations at B2

Collocation Meaning & Notes Quick example
do research Conduct a study or investigation. Uncountable — never do a research. Scientists do research in the Amazon every field season.
do business (with) Trade or maintain a commercial relationship. Many European firms now do business with Brazilian exporters.
do damage (to) Cause harm, often environmental or structural. Deforestation does enormous damage to the ecosystem.
do your best Try as hard as you possibly can. The capoeiristas do their best to read each other’s movements.
do justice to Represent or appreciate something fully and fairly. No photograph does justice to the view from Sugarloaf Mountain.
do wonders for Have an extremely positive effect on something. Learning to samba does wonders for your coordination and confidence.
do a favour Help someone by performing a task for them. Can you do me a favour and translate this menu?
do without Manage even when you lack something you need or want. On the jungle trek, we had to do without phone signal for five days.
do away with Abolish, remove, or eliminate completely. Environmental groups want to do away with illegal logging contracts.
do a course Complete a programme of study or training. She did a two-week capoeira course in Salvador de Bahia.

CLIL focus: Brazil

MAKE and DO through the story of Brazil

Football and making history. Brazil is the only nation to have qualified for every single FIFA World Cup in history, and it has made history five times by lifting the trophy (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, and 2002) — more than any other country. In 1958, the teenage Pelé didn’t just do his best; he became the youngest World Cup final scorer at just 17, and in doing so he made an impression on the entire world that has never faded. Brazil’s Seleção has made a contribution to football that goes beyond trophies — the country effectively invented a whole philosophy of the beautiful game.

Capoeira and making a stand. This Afro-Brazilian martial art was born out of resistance. Enslaved Africans in Brazil made use of dance and music to disguise their self-defence training from colonial authorities — a brilliant act of cultural survival. They did their best to preserve their heritage under brutal conditions, and they succeeded. In 2014, UNESCO recognised the enormous contribution capoeira has made to world culture by granting it special Intangible Heritage status. Today, millions of people do capoeira in studios, parks and universities around the globe, and the art continues to make new followers every year.

Carnival and making an effort. Every year, Rio de Janeiro’s Carnival draws around six million people — with over 200 samba schools making extraordinary efforts to outdo one another. Preparations begin months in advance: costumes are designed, choreography is drilled, floats are built. Each school makes a powerful impression on the judges, and the winners make national headlines. The event also does wonders for Brazil’s tourism economy, bringing over 1.5 million visitors from outside the country to Rio alone. It is, by many measures, the largest carnival celebration on Earth — and no other description does it justice.

The Amazon and doing damage. The Amazon rainforest covers more than 60% of Brazil’s territory and stores an estimated 150–200 billion tonnes of carbon, which means that what happens here makes a difference to the entire planet’s climate. Tragically, cattle ranching has done enormous damage to the forest, accounting for around 80% of deforestation in the region. The good news is that published data from 2024 showed a 50% decline in the deforestation rate between 2022 and 2023 — evidence that conservation policy can make real progress. Researchers continue to do vital research in the forest, where a new species is discovered on average every other day.

Food and making a living. Pão de queijo — Brazil’s iconic cheesy bread roll — originated in the state of Minas Gerais, where enslaved women first made the snack from cassava starch left over from processing yuca. Since gaining popularity across Brazil in the 1950s, pão de queijo has made its way onto menus worldwide. Countless families across Minas Gerais still make a living from producing and selling it at local markets. Making the most of a warm pão de queijo with strong Brazilian coffee at a roadside café is one of the great small pleasures of travel in this country.

Common mistakes for Spanish speakers

Five errors to stop making right now

Because Spanish uses hacer for both MAKE and DO, Spanish speakers tend to apply one verb where English requires the other. These five errors come up again and again at B2:

❌“I need to do a decision about the project.”
✅“I need to make a decision about the project.”

Spanish: tomar una decisión or hacer una decisión — but in English, decisions are always made. They are a mental product you create, not a task you perform.

❌“The pollution is making a lot of damage to the reef.”
✅“The pollution is doing a lot of damage to the reef.”

Although hacer daño maps to do damage, the association with hacer = make often leads learners astray. Damage in English is always done.

❌“She did a great effort during the presentation.”
✅“She made a great effort during the presentation.”

Hacer un esfuerzo = make an effort. Effort is something you produce or invest — it belongs in the MAKE family.

❌“Brazil did a huge contribution to world football.”
✅“Brazil made a huge contribution to world football.”

Contributions, impressions, and differences are always made — they are things you create and leave behind, not activities you carry out.

❌“Can you make me a favour?”
✅“Can you do me a favour?”

One of the most frequent B2 errors. Spanish: ¿puedes hacerme un favor? — but in English, favours are always done. They are acts you perform, not products you create.

Example bank: MAKE and DO in a Brazilian context

  1. Brazil has made more progress on deforestation monitoring since satellite technology became widely available.
  2. Pelé made history as the only player to win the FIFA World Cup three times.
  3. The samba school made an extraordinary impression on the judges with its golden float and intricate costumes.
  4. Local fishing cooperatives do business with seafood restaurants along the coast near Fortaleza.
  5. Industrial cattle farming continues to do serious damage to the biodiversity of the Cerrado savannah.
  6. She did a two-week capoeira course in Salvador and came home with completely different posture.
  7. Every capoeirista does their best to read the opponent’s weight shift before making a move.
  8. The organising committee made an exception and allowed the school to register its float one week late.
  9. International scientists do vital research into undiscovered plant species deep in the Amazon basin.
  10. A strong cup of Brazilian coffee in the morning does wonders for concentration — ask any carioca.
  11. The conservation agency made use of drone footage to track illegal logging in remote areas.
  12. Travelling on a tight budget, the backpackers had to do without a tour guide in the Pantanal.
  13. Brazil has made an enormous contribution to the world of music through bossa nova, samba, and baile funk.
  14. The team captain made a speech in the dressing room before the penalty shoot-out that left no one unmoved.
  15. No photograph truly does justice to the scale and colour of the Carnival parade at the Sambadrome.
  16. After the scheduling error, the festival organisers made amends by offering free tickets to the affected audience.
  17. Visitors to Rio are urged to make the most of the Carnival atmosphere before it ends at midnight on Shrove Tuesday.
  18. Many artisan food producers in Minas Gerais make a living from selling pão de queijo and homemade cheese at weekly markets.
  19. Environmental groups are pushing to do away with subsidies that make deforestation financially attractive.
  20. Could you do me a favour and check the bus schedule from Manaus to Belém?

Quick practice quiz

Test yourself: MAKE or DO?

Choose the correct verb for each sentence, then check the answer key below.

  1. The conservation campaign has ________ a real difference to water quality in the Pantanal wetlands. (make / do)
  2. A team of botanists is currently ________ research into plants that grow only in the Amazon floodplain. (make / do)
  3. Over the past century, Brazil has ________ a remarkable contribution to global sporting culture. (make / do)
  4. Years of intensive logging have ________ irreversible damage to large sections of the Atlantic Forest. (make / do)
  5. Travellers to Salvador should ________ the most of the city’s rich Afro-Brazilian heritage and architecture. (make / do)
Show answer key

1. made — make a difference: you create or bring about a change, so this belongs to MAKE.
2. doing — do research: research is an ongoing activity or duty, not a product you manufacture.
3. made — make a contribution: a contribution is something you produce and leave behind — a MAKE collocation.
4. done — do damage: damage is inflicted through action — always DO, not MAKE.
5. make — make the most of: a fixed MAKE expression meaning to exploit an opportunity fully.

Related lessons

Sources
· FIFA — Brazil’s 26 World Cup Records
· Wikipedia — Capoeira
· Encyclopædia Britannica — Capoeira
· Wikipedia — Rio Carnival
· Chebe — History of Pão de Queijo
· WWF — The Amazon Rainforest