Machen: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Machen means “to make, to do”, and it is one of the most useful verbs in German — you will meet it in conversation, in books, in films and in every textbook. This page puts the verb to work: twelve example sentences across the tenses, a short dialogue you can act out, a tour of the verb in its most important tenses, the mistakes learners make most often, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for machen, so you can trust what you read here. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself with the quiz at the end.

Example sentences

Twelve sentences with machen, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich mache die Hausaufgaben heute Abend.” — “I do the homework this evening.”
  2. “Du machst einen Spaziergang im Park.” — “You do a walk in the park.”
  3. “Ich habe das Essen jeden Tag gemacht.” — “I have done the cooking every day.”
  4. “Er machte die Hausaufgaben heute Abend.” — “He did the homework this evening.”
  5. “Wir werden einen Spaziergang im Park machen.” — “We will do a walk in the park.”
  6. “Du hast das Essen jeden Tag gemacht.” — “You have done the cooking every day.”
  7. “Ich machte die Hausaufgaben heute Abend.” — “I would do the homework this evening.”
  8. “Er mache einen Spaziergang im Park.” — “He does a walk in the park.”
  9. “Wir hatten das Essen jeden Tag gemacht.” — “We had done the cooking every day.”
  10. “Er wird die Hausaufgaben heute Abend machen.” — “He will do the homework this evening.”
  11. “Sie machen einen Spaziergang im Park.” — “They do a walk in the park.”
  12. “Mach das Essen jeden Tag!” — “Do the cooking every day!”

A short dialogue

Lena and Jonas are talking about the homework this evening. Read the dialogue aloud, one voice per person, and notice how machen changes with the tense and the subject. Every form of machen below is taken from the verified tables.

Lena: “Machst du die Hausaufgaben heute Abend?” — “You do the homework this evening?” Jonas: “Ich mache die Hausaufgaben heute Abend.” — “I do the homework this evening.” Lena: Und morgen? Jonas: “Ich werde einen Spaziergang im Park machen.” — “I will do a walk in the park.” Lena: Und gestern? Jonas: “Ich habe das Essen jeden Tag gemacht.” — “I have done the cooking every day.” Lena: Und eines Tages? Jonas: “Ich machte die Hausaufgaben heute Abend.” — “I would do the homework this evening.”

Notice how the dialogue moves through time: the present for what is happening now, the future for tomorrow, the Perfekt for yesterday, and Konjunktiv II for what someone would do one day. The verb stays the same — only the tense changes — and that is the whole point of learning a conjugation table: one verb, many moments.

Machen in different tenses

The same verb does different jobs in different tenses. Here are the six uses of machen that matter most, each with a sentence you can copy and adapt.

The present: habits and facts

In the present, machen describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is mache: “Ich mache die Hausaufgaben heute Abend.” — “I do the homework this evening.”

The preterite: the past as a finished event

In the preterite, machen describes one finished action in the past, the way a story tells it. The er form is machte: “Er machte einen Spaziergang im Park.” — “He did a walk in the park.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, machen reports one finished action in everyday speech, built with haben plus the participle gemacht. The ich form is habe gemacht: “Ich habe das Essen jeden Tag gemacht.” — “I have done the cooking every day.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, machen talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden machen: “Wir werden die Hausaufgaben heute Abend machen.” — “We will do the homework this evening.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, machen talks about what would happen. Konjunktiv II doubles as the German conditional — there is no separate conditional tense. The du form is machtest: “Du machtest einen Spaziergang im Park.” — “You would do a walk in the park.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In reported speech, machen appears in Konjunktiv I, reporting what someone else said. The er form is mache: “Er mache das Essen jeden Tag.” — “He does the cooking every day.” Read it as a quotation — someone said this, and the sentence reports it.

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Ich machen die Hausaufgaben heute Abend.”

✓ Right: “Ich mache die Hausaufgaben heute Abend.”

The infinitive machen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form mache.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du mache die Hausaufgaben heute Abend.”

✓ Right: “Du machst die Hausaufgaben heute Abend.”

mache is the ich form. With du you need machst. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich mache die Hausaufgaben heute Abend gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe die Hausaufgaben heute Abend gemacht.”

The time word gestern points to the past, so a finished action needs the Perfekt habe gemacht, not the present.

Using the indicative in reported speech

✗ Wrong: “Ich mache die Hausaufgaben heute Abend.” (quoted as reported speech)

✓ Right: “Ich mache die Hausaufgaben heute Abend.” (quoted as reported speech)

In reported speech German uses Konjunktiv I: mache, not the indicative mache.

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich gemacht die Hausaufgaben heute Abend.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe die Hausaufgaben heute Abend gemacht.”

The Perfekt of machen needs the auxiliary haben plus the participle gemacht: the full ich form is habe gemacht.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on machen. Choose the right answer, then check the answer key below.

  1. What is the ich form of machen in the Present (Präsens)?

    • A) macht
    • B) machen
    • C) mache
    • D) machst

  2. What is the du form of machen in the Present (Präsens)?

    • A) machst
    • B) mache
    • C) macht
    • D) machen

  3. What is the er/sie/es form of machen in the Perfect (Perfekt)?

    • A) hast gemacht
    • B) haben gemacht
    • C) hat gemacht
    • D) habe gemacht

  4. What is the wir form of machen in the Preterite (Präteritum)?

    • A) machten
    • B) machte
    • C) machtest
    • D) machtet

  5. What is the du form of machen in the Future (Futur I)?

    • A) werde machen
    • B) wird machen
    • C) werden machen
    • D) wirst machen

  6. What is the ich form of machen in the Konjunktiv II (conditional)?

    • A) machten
    • B) machtet
    • C) machte
    • D) machtest

  7. What is the er/sie/es form of machen in the Konjunktiv I?

    • A) machen
    • B) machet
    • C) mache
    • D) machest

  8. What is the ich form of machen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?

    • A) hattet gemacht
    • B) hatte gemacht
    • C) hattest gemacht
    • D) hatten gemacht

  9. What is the past participle of machen?

    • A) gegeben
    • B) gesehen
    • C) genommen
    • D) gemacht

  10. What does machen mean in English?

  • A) to take
  • B) to make, to do
  • C) to give
  • D) to see

Answer key

  1. C) mache — the ich form of machen in the Present (Präsens) is mache. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. A) machst — the du form of machen in the Present (Präsens) is machst. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. C) hat gemacht — the er/sie/es form of machen in the Perfect (Perfekt) is hat gemacht. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) machten — the wir form of machen in the Preterite (Präteritum) is machten. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. D) wirst machen — the du form of machen in the Future (Futur I) is wirst machen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) machte — the ich form of machen in the Konjunktiv II (conditional) is machte. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. C) mache — the er/sie/es form of machen in the Konjunktiv I is mache. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. B) hatte gemacht — the ich form of machen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is hatte gemacht. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. D) gemacht — the past participle of machen is gemacht. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
  10. B) to make, to do — machen means “to make, to do” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.

Frequently asked questions

What does machen mean in English?

machen means “to make, to do”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.

Is machen regular or irregular?

machen is regular in every tense. The present participle is machend and the past participle is gemacht.

How do I practise machen every day?

Say one sentence with machen in the present, one in the Perfekt and one in the future every day, using the examples on this page as models — for example, “Ich mache die Hausaufgaben heute Abend.”, “Ich habe die Hausaufgaben heute Abend gemacht.” and “Ich werde die Hausaufgaben heute Abend machen.”. Then take the quiz again and check your answers against the key.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for machen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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