Make Made Made
Making, making, and having made something all hinge on the verb make and its forms. This short guide shows you how to use make in English with clear examples.
Make
Make describes the act of creating, producing, or causing something to exist. Use the base form make for general actions, instructions, and when pairing with to‑infinitives or verbs like can and must.
Examples
| English Example | English Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 🌅 I make coffee every morning. | I prepare coffee every morning. | Habit |
| 📝 She makes a list before shopping. | She writes a list before shopping. | Preparation |
| 🎨 They make decorations for the party. | They create decorations for the party. | Creativity |
| 🥗 We make salads with fresh ingredients. | We prepare salads with fresh ingredients. | Cooking |
| 🧺 He makes space on the table. | He clears space on the table. | Organizing |
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Made
Made is the past and past participle form of make. Use made to talk about completed actions, to form the perfect tenses, and in passive sentences where something was created by someone.
Examples
| English Example | English Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|
| ☕ I made coffee for everyone. | I prepared coffee for everyone. | Completed action |
| 🛒 She made a list on her phone. | She created a list on her phone. | Note-taking |
| 🎉 They made decorations last night. | They finished decorations last night. | Past effort |
| 🍞 We made sandwiches for the picnic. | We prepared sandwiches for the picnic. | Meal prep |
| 🧼 He made a mess on the counter. | He caused a mess on the counter. | Unexpected result |
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Making
Making is the present participle and gerund form of make. Use making for actions in progress, for noun phrases, and after verbs that take ‑ing forms. It can also appear in continuous tenses.
Examples
| English Example | English Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|
| ☕ I am making coffee now. | I am preparing coffee now. | Present continuous |
| 📝 She is making a list. | She is writing a list. | Ongoing task |
| 🎨 They are making decorations. | They are creating decorations. | In progress |
| 🥗 We are making salads together. | We are preparing salads together. | Cooperative action |
| 🧹 He is making room on the floor. | He is clearing space on the floor. | Rearranging |
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Phrases
Common phrases with make and made often appear in cooking, crafts, business, and everyday activities. Learning set expressions helps you sound natural when talking about creating or preparing things.
Examples
| English Example | English Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 🔥 Make it hot, please. | Please heat it up. | Request |
| 💡 Make a plan before you start. | Create a plan before starting. | Advice |
| 🧑🍳 Made from scratch. | Prepared with basic ingredients. | Quality note |
| ⏰ Making time for friends. | Scheduling time with friends. | Expression |
| ✅ Make sure the door is locked. | Confirm the door is locked. | Reminder |
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Summary
Use make for general actions and instructions, made for completed actions and perfect/passive forms, and making for ongoing actions and noun uses. Familiar phrases speed up fluency when talking about creating things.
Last updated: Tue Sep 16, 2025