Una colocación es una pareja de palabras que van juntas de forma natural: dices strong tea (no powerful tea), make a mistake (no do a mistake). No hay una regla lógica; es cuestión de costumbre del idioma, y usar la combinación correcta es lo que hace que tu inglés suene nativo en vez de traducido.
make vs do
| make | do | Idea |
|---|---|---|
| make a decision | do your homework | make = crear/producir; do = realizar una tarea |
| make a mistake | do the shopping | — |
| make progress | do business | — |
| make an effort | do me a favour | — |
| make noise | do exercise | — |
Más colocaciones frecuentes
| Colocación | No digas | Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|
| take a photo | make/do a photo | Can you take a photo? |
| heavy rain | strong rain | Heavy rain is forecast. |
| strong coffee | hard coffee | I like strong coffee. |
| have a party | make a party | They had a party. |
| pay attention | put attention | Pay attention, please. |
| tell the truth | say the truth | Just tell the truth. |
El error típico del hispanohablante
No calques del español: es *take a photo (no make a photo), have a party (no make a party*), tell the truth (no say the truth).