Overview
The verb machen is one of the most common and versatile verbs in German, meaning to do or to make. It is a regular verb, used in many everyday contexts ranging from actions, tasks, and creating something. Understanding machen is essential for constructing various sentences and expressions in German.
Present Tense Conjugation
The verb machen follows the regular conjugation pattern for -en verbs in German in the present tense. It is important to know these forms to express what someone is doing or making right now.
| German Pronoun | German Conjugation | English Conjugation | German Example | English Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ich | mache | I do/make | Ich mache meine Hausaufgaben. | I do my homework. |
| du | machst | you do/make (sing.) | Du machst einen Kuchen. | You are making a cake. |
| er/sie/es | macht | he/she/it does/makes | Er macht das Frühstück. | He is making breakfast. |
| wir | machen | we do/make | Wir machen einen Spaziergang. | We are taking a walk. |
| ihr | macht | you do/make (pl.) | Ihr macht viel Sport. | You (all) do a lot of sport. |
| sie/Sie | machen | they/you (formal) do/make | Sie machen die Arbeit. | They do the work. |
Past Tense (Perfect)
To talk about actions done or made in the past, machen uses the auxiliary verb haben and the past participle gemacht.
Example:
- Ich habe das Essen gemacht.
I made the food.
Usage and Examples
Machen can be used in numerous expressions and phrases such as:
- Etwas machen – to do something
- Hausaufgaben machen – to do homework
- Fotos machen – to take photos
- Einen Fehler machen – to make a mistake
It is a highly productive verb, often combined with nouns to express different kinds of actions.
Related Verbs
While machen covers to do and to make, verbs like tun (also meaning to do but less common), and herstellen (to manufacture or produce) serve related but distinct purposes in German, typically used in more specific contexts.
Understanding machen thoroughly opens the way to rich and effective communication in German. It is foundational to both spoken and written language skills.
