"do" vs "play"

[Carlos Edu]

Hello, everyone,

Could you tell me whether "do" and "play" are interchangeable in the contexts below?

"Streep plays a shy, nervous woman." (Longman)


"It would suggest that they stopped teasing him because they were intimidated, when in fact they themselves were doing the intimidating." (wordreference)


"We did 'Guys and Dolls' last year." (Longman)

Thanks in advance!

 

[MikeNewYork]

They are not interchangeable. All the sentences are correct, however.

 

[Rover_KE]

Welcome to the forum, Carlos.

What makes you think 'do' and 'play' might be interchangeable?

I can't think of any context in which they are.

 

[Carlos Edu]

I don't know why I thought them were interchangeable, maybe it has been because I thought the contexts above similar.

Could I say "In the new movie, Agelina Jolie did a woman who lived with her parents and was really workaholic." or does only "play" work here?

"Matthews plays the role of a young doctor suspected of murder." (Longman) In this sentence, could I use "does" intead of "plays"?

 

[MikeNewYork]

I don't know why I thought them were interchangeable, maybe it has been because I thought the contexts above similar.

Could I say "In the new movie, Agelina Jolie did a woman who lived with her parents and was really workaholic." or does only "play" work here? Only play works there.

"Matthews plays the role of a young doctor suspected of murder." (Longman) In this sentence, could I use "does" instead of "plays"? No.

MNY

 

[Jill Dorchester]

Hello, everyone,

Could you tell me whether "do" and "play" are interchangeable in the contexts below?

"Streep plays a shy, nervous woman." (Longman)

The use of "play" here means that Meryl Streep was portraying a character; she was acting in a specific role.
(We could also say, for example, that Bob Denver played Gilligan, a clumsy sailor who often frustrated his fellow castaways on the TV show Gilligan's Island.)

"We did 'Guys and Dolls' last year." (Longman)

It depends upon who is speaking. If it is actors (let's say Bob Denver and Tina Louise are being interviewed and they mention "We did Guys and Dolls last year, off-Broadway"), then it means that they performed in the play Guys and Dolls. If it is a producer or director or stagehand who says "I (or "We") did Guys and Dolls last year, it means that they were a part of that particular production in some capacity. They could also say "I worked on Guys and Dolls" and it would mean the same as "did".

 

[Carlos Edu]

Thank you very much, you all, for heving helped me! You all made it clear for me! Now, I have no question about it, because those that I have were answered here!:-D