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GERMAN VERB

machen

to do, to make

  • #7 most used
  • Weak verb
  • Past participle: gemacht

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Präsens · now, habits and facts

  1. ich I do
  2. du you do
  3. er, sie, es he/she does
  4. wir we do
  5. ihr you all do
  6. sie, Sie they do

Simple past

Präteritum · the past of writing, and of sein, haben and the modals in speech

  1. ich I did
  2. du you did
  3. er, sie, es he/she did
  4. wir we did
  5. ihr you all did
  6. sie, Sie they did

Perfect

Perfekt · the past of speech: “habe gemacht”

  1. ich I have done
  2. du you have done
  3. er, sie, es he/she has done
  4. wir we have done
  5. ihr you all have done
  6. sie, Sie they have done

Future

Futur I · “werden”; in speech the present with “morgen” does the job

  1. ich I will do
  2. du you will do
  3. er, sie, es he/she will do
  4. wir we will do
  5. ihr you all will do
  6. sie, Sie they will do

Conditional

Konjunktiv II · “would”: “würde”, and “wäre”, “hätte”, “könnte”

  1. ich I would do
  2. du you would do
  3. er, sie, es he/she would do
  4. wir we would do
  5. ihr you all would do
  6. sie, Sie they would do

Imperative

Imperativ · requests and orders: du, ihr, Sie

  1. du do!
  2. ihr do! (all of you)
  3. Sie do! (formal)

How to use machen

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    Was machst du am Wochenende?

    What are you doing at the weekend?

  2. Simple past

    Er machte uns einen Kaffee.

    He made us a coffee.

  3. Perfect

    Das hast du wirklich gut gemacht.

    You did that really well.

  4. Future

    Wir werden morgen einen Ausflug machen.

    We'll go on a trip tomorrow.

  5. Conditional

    Ich würde das anders machen.

    I'd do that differently.

  6. Imperative

    Mach dir keine Sorgen, das wird schon.

    Don't worry, it'll be fine.

Good to know

  • Was machst du? asks what someone is doing, or what their job is.
  • Das macht nichts means it doesn't matter; das macht zehn Euro, that comes to ten euros.

Where you hear machen

The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.

German · Beginner Level 1

  • Was machen Sie in Berlin? What are you doing in Berlin?
  • Was haben Sie heute gemacht? What did you do today?
  • Am Sonntag mache ich Kuchen. On Sunday I'll make cake.

German · Beginner Level 2

  • Was machen Sie in Berlin? What are you doing in Berlin?
  • Was haben Sie heute gemacht? What did you do today?
  • Am Sonntag mache ich Kuchen. On Sunday I'll make cake.
6
A Bottle of Water

Beginner Level 1 · Das macht zwei Euro.

Needs a subscription 12
At the Bakery

Beginner Level 1 · Was macht das?

Needs a subscription 22
What Do You Like Doing?

Beginner Level 1 · Was machst du gern?

Needs a subscription 26
What Did You Do Yesterday?

Beginner Level 1 · Was hast du gestern gemacht?

Needs a subscription 2
How Was the Move?

Beginner Level 2 · Haben Sie alles allein gemacht?

Free 8
The Internet Technician

Beginner Level 2 · Kein Problem. Ich mache Kaffee.

Needs a subscription 13
Plans for the Weekend

Beginner Level 2 · Was machst du am Samstag? · Ja. Was machen wir?

Needs a subscription 16
The Heating Is Cold

Beginner Level 2 · Ich habe nichts gemacht.

Needs a subscription 19
A Cold at the Pharmacy

Beginner Level 2 · Danke. Das mache ich.

Needs a subscription 20
The Invitation to Christmas Eve

Beginner Level 2 · Herr Becker, was machen Sie Heiligabend? · Was machen Sie morgen?

Needs a subscription 22
The Last Day Before the Holidays

Beginner Level 2 · So, Feierabend! Was machst du an Weihnachten?

Needs a subscription 26
New Year's Eve Plans

Beginner Level 2 · Max, was machst du an Silvester?

Needs a subscription

And 57 more lessons.

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: weak verb.