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Making Do

B2/C1

Discutez avec votre partenaire :

Are you any good at fixing things?

Can you remember what you fixed most recently?

What problems connected with the things below do you know how to fix?

cars
computers
bicycles
houses or flats
What tools have you used? How well did you handle them?

Have you ever tried to fix something only for it to all go terribly wrong? When? What happened?

Making Do

VOCABULARY Useful things

Look at the picture and discuss the questions.

Do you know all of these things? Can you find them in the picture?

a hammer
a drill
a saw
a torch
a stepladder
a nail
a screw
toothpaste
a rope
wire
a pan
a cloth
a dustpan and brush
glue
a corkscrew
a mop and bucket
a tin opener
a lighter
a rubber
correction fluid
a stapler
scissors
clips
Sellotape
washing powder
a needle and thread
an iron
clothes pegs
a charger
a ruler
a plaster
a bandage

Are there any things you've never used? Why? / Why not?
Which of the objects do you use: all the time / regularly / now and again / hardly ever?
Do you have any of these things on you now? Which of the things do you have at home?
Which of the things did you NOT know in English before?
In groups, add as many of the things in the picture as you can to the categories below without looking at the pictures. Which group can remember the most words?

the office / study: ______________
the kitchen: ______________
clothes: ______________
DIY: ______________
first aid: ______________
Work in pairs. Take turns to test each other on the vocabulary from the picture by asking the questions below.
Student A: look at the picture.
Student B: keep your book closed.
Student A: ask: What do you need...

to tie things together?
to put up a poster or a notice?
to wash and hang up your clothes to dry?
if there's a crack in your roof and it's leaking?
so you can mend a rip in your clothing?

Student B: look at the picture.
Student A: keep your book closed.
Student B: ask: What do you need...

to keep papers together?
to put up a picture on the wall?
to make holes in the wall?
if you knock over a cup and it smashes on the floor?
so you can see better in dark places?

LISTENING

🔊 16 Listen to a man asking for something. Answer the questions.

What does he want?
What for?
What does he use instead?
What else does he need – and why?
🔊 16 Work in pairs. Try to complete the sentences you heard. Then listen again to check your ideas.
a) I don’t think there’s one here. Use a _______ instead of a knife?
b) You need a stick _______ to push it down.
c) Would a pencil _______?
d) It wouldn’t be _______.
e) What about a wooden spoon? _______ the handle.
f) Yeah, _______ do.
g) Don’t worry about it. These _______.
h) You might want to rub some salt into that shirt or it’ll _______.

SPEAKING

Work in groups. Discuss the questions.

Can you think of a situation where you didn’t have the things you needed and you had to improvise or make do?
Do you know any ways of removing these kinds of stains?
coffee
grass
oil
paint
wax

Match these items with the problems in bold in the sentences below.
a desk
jeans
shoes
a top
face cream
a kettle
a tablet
a watch

When it arrived and I put it on, it didn’t fit.
When I took it out of the box, I found the screen was scratched.
When I tried to put it together, I realised it had a bit missing.
It was supposed to be for sensitive skin, but it gave me spots.
When I filled it the first time, I realised it had a leak.
I only wore it for a week and the strap came off.
They fell apart after a month. The soles came off!
When I got home and tried them on I realised the back pocket was ripped.

Make some notes about a time when:
you bought something that was broken or had something that went wrong.
you took something back to a shop because there was a problem.
you complained about something.

Tell your partner.

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