English Vocabulary · Level B1 · CLIL: Iceland

Collocations with MAKE and DO: B1 Guide (with Iceland)

Spanish speakers have one verb — hacer — where English needs two: MAKE and DO. Choosing the wrong one is one of the most common B1 mistakes. Tonight we’ll fix that with a clear rule, a set of collocations to learn by heart, and a window into Iceland — one of the most extraordinary places on the planet.

The one rule that unlocks both verbs

There is no perfect formula, but this principle covers around 90% of cases:

MAKE = to create, produce, or cause something — there is a result or output.
DO = to perform an activity, task, or duty — the emphasis is on the action or process itself.

Think of it this way: when you make a cake, something new exists. When you do the washing-up, you carry out a task. The cake is the result; the washing-up is the activity.

The most important collocations to memorise

Collocations are fixed combinations. You do not choose them logically — you learn them as pairs. Here are the most useful at B1 level:

MAKE + noun
make a decision We need to make a decision about where to go.
make a mistake Even advanced learners make mistakes sometimes.
make progress She has made great progress this month.
make a reservation Did you make a reservation at the restaurant?
make a suggestion Can I make a suggestion?
make an effort He really made an effort to arrive on time.
make a difference Good teachers make a real difference.
make money Tourism helps Iceland make money.
make friends It is easy to make friends when you travel.
make a plan Let’s make a plan for the trip.
DO + noun
do homework Have you done your homework yet?
do research Scientists do research on Iceland’s volcanoes.
do exercise / do sport I try to do exercise every morning.
do business Iceland does a lot of business with Europe.
do damage The eruption did serious damage to nearby roads.
do your best Just do your best — that is all anyone can ask.
do someone a favour Could you do me a favour and send that email?
do a course I am doing an online course in English.
do harm Too many tourists can do harm to fragile landscapes.
do the dishes / do the washing Whose turn is it to do the dishes?

MAKE and DO in Iceland

Iceland is a spectacular place to explore these collocations in context. With fewer than 400,000 residents — one of the smallest populations in Europe — Iceland consistently makes headlines for doing extraordinary things.

  • Clean energy. Iceland makes 100% of its electricity from renewable sources: roughly 70% from hydropower and 30% from geothermal energy. No other country does this at national scale. Scientists and engineers do research on Iceland’s geothermal systems and share what they learn with countries trying to make progress on climate change.
  • Tourism. In 2025, Iceland received approximately 2.5 million international visitors — more than six times its own population. That kind of tourism helps the country make money, but also risks doing damage to its fragile lava fields and natural parks. In response, Iceland made a decision to introduce a small tourism tax per hotel stay to fund sustainability efforts.
  • Volcanic activity. Between December 2023 and August 2025, nine eruptions occurred in the Sundhnúkur crater series near the town of Grindavík on the Reykjanes peninsula. Each eruption risked doing serious harm to nearby infrastructure. Locals and scientists made plans and built defensive barriers — making an effort to protect the town that few other countries could match.
  • The midnight sun. In June, Iceland experiences 22 to 24 hours of daylight. Travellers from southern Europe often make mistakes about when to sleep — the bright sky at midnight makes it surprisingly hard to feel tired. If you are planning a trip, make a reservation for somewhere with good blackout curtains.
  • A small country doing big things. Iceland has won the Nobel Prize in Literature (Halldór Laxness, 1955), produced globally recognised musicians including Björk, Sigur Rós, and Laufey, and does business with the whole world through its fisheries, aluminium industry, and tourism sector. For a country of its size, it genuinely makes a difference on the world stage.

Common mistakes for Spanish speakers

Watch out for these

In Spanish, hacer covers both MAKE and DO. English splits them. The most common confusion is with errors:

✗ I did a mistake in my essay.
✓ I made a mistake in my essay. (A mistake is a result — something you produce)

Exercise and sport are activities, not results — so they go with DO:

✗ I make exercise every day.
✓ I do exercise every day. (Do gym, do yoga, do sport — all activities)

Homework is a task you perform, not something you create:

✗ Have you made your homework?
✓ Have you done your homework?

A decision is a result — something you produce from thinking. It goes with MAKE:

✗ They did a decision to protect the coastline.
✓ They made a decision to protect the coastline.

Research is an activity or process — it goes with DO:

✗ Scientists make research on Icelandic geysers.
✓ Scientists do research on Icelandic geysers.

Example bank

  1. Iceland made a decision to introduce a tourism tax to protect its landscapes.
  2. Engineers do research on Iceland’s geothermal systems every year.
  3. The volcano did serious damage to roads near Grindavík.
  4. She made a reservation at a hotel in Reykjavík three months in advance.
  5. He always makes an effort to practise English outside of class.
  6. Iceland makes money from tourism, fisheries, and aluminium.
  7. Scientists do their best to predict volcanic eruptions.
  8. Travelling helps you make friends from all over the world.
  9. Did you do your homework before the grammar class?
  10. The midnight sun in June makes it very hard to sleep.
  11. Iceland does business with most countries in Europe.
  12. Overtourism can do harm to fragile natural environments.
  13. Let’s make a plan for our trip to the Blue Lagoon.
  14. Small countries can make a real difference on global issues.
  15. Could you do me a favour and book the tour for tomorrow?
  16. I am making great progress — I can now understand the news in English!

Quick quiz — MAKE or DO?

Fill each gap with the correct form of MAKE or DO.

  1. The government ______ a decision to build more geothermal plants.
  2. Tourists sometimes ______ damage to the fragile lava fields.
  3. I always ______ my homework before watching TV.
  4. The eruption ______ a big impression on everyone who watched it live.
  5. She ______ research into renewable energy at the University of Iceland.
Show answer key
  1. made a decision (decision = a result you produce → MAKE)
  2. do damage (damage here = carry out / cause an effect → DO)
  3. do my homework (homework = a task/activity → DO)
  4. made a big impression (impression = a result/output → MAKE)
  5. does research (research = an activity/process → DO)

Related lessons

Building your vocabulary goes hand in hand with mastering grammar. If you found this useful, you might also enjoy phrasal verbs with GET — another high-frequency verb pattern that trips up B1 and B2 learners. When you are writing sentences with MAKE and DO, you will need accurate tenses too: our guide to present perfect vs past simple covers the tense choice that comes up most often in everyday writing. And if you want to stretch further, the third conditional guide shows how to discuss unreal past situations — perfect for writing about what Iceland would have done if the volcanoes had behaved differently. For even more verb patterns, our new guide to phrasal verbs with TAKE covers ten essential B2 combinations set in real facts about Portugal. Ready to take MAKE and DO further? The B2 guide to MAKE and DO collocations (with Brazil) deepens the same topic with more sophisticated expressions, a full example bank, and a quiz.

VocabularyB1MAKE and DOCollocationsIceland

Sources:
Iceland’s 100% renewable electricity and geothermal statistics: Low Carbon Power (2025) and Government of Iceland Energy portal.
Iceland 2025 tourism figures (2.5 million visitors): Icelandic Tourist Board.
Sundhnúkur crater eruptions Dec 2023 – Aug 2025: Wikipedia: Iceland.
Midnight sun daylight hours: Guide to Iceland.
Iceland population (~395,000): Nordic Cooperation.


Looking for more vocabulary building? Try our lesson on strong adjective collocations — C1-level vocabulary explored through Australia.

Put your collocations to work in the kitchen: our B1 guide to food and cooking vocabulary shows how “make a meal” and “do the cooking” fit into real Palestinian recipes.