Machen Conjugation in German

machen means “to make, to do” in English, and it is one of the first verbs German learners meet — it sits at number 14 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for German verbs. You will meet it in everyday sentences such as “Ich mache die Hausaufgaben heute Abend.” — “I do the homework this evening.” — and because it comes up in everyday conversation so often, learning its forms properly pays off from the very first week. This page gives you the complete conjugation of machen — every tense, every person, the present participle and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: machen
  • English: to make, to do
  • Verb type: Regular
  • Irregular in: none — regular in every tense
  • Present participle (Partizip I): machend
  • Past participle (Partizip II): gemacht
  • Auxiliary: haben (all perfect tenses are formed with haben + the past participle)
  • Pattern: weak in the verified tables

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. Learn the spelling of the forms first, and listen to a native speaker for the sounds rather than trusting an invented transcription. The forms below are the ones that matter: once you can read machen in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.

Three things to remember about machen

  1. It is regular: every form follows the ordinary weak pattern, so once you know the stem you can build the whole table. The only work is learning the endings, not memorising exceptions.
  2. The perfect tenses use haben: the Perfekt is formed with haben in the present plus the past participle gemacht. The tables on this page give the participle in the form exactly as it appears in the verified dump; the participle itself does not change for person, only the auxiliary does.
  3. The participles are machend and gemacht: keep both in mind as you read the tables, because the present participle appears as an adjective and the past participle appears in every perfect tense. If you know those two forms and the present tense, you already know the skeleton of the whole conjugation.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for machen. Learn the present tense first, then the Perfekt and the preterite, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.

Present (Präsens)

Person Form
ich mache
du machst
er/sie/es macht
wir machen
ihr macht
sie/Sie machen

The present (Präsens) is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Ich mache einen Spaziergang im Park.” — “I do a walk in the park.”

Preterite (Präteritum)

Person Form
ich machte
du machtest
er/sie/es machte
wir machten
ihr machtet
sie/Sie machten

The preterite (Präteritum) is used for completed actions in the past, mostly in written German and in stories. For example: “Du machtest einen Spaziergang im Park.” — “You did a walk in the park.”

Perfect (Perfekt)

Person Form
ich habe gemacht
du hast gemacht
er/sie/es hat gemacht
wir haben gemacht
ihr habt gemacht
sie/Sie haben gemacht

The perfect (Perfekt) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken German. For example: “Er hat einen Spaziergang im Park gemacht.” — “He has done a walk in the park.”

Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)

Person Form
ich hatte gemacht
du hattest gemacht
er/sie/es hatte gemacht
wir hatten gemacht
ihr hattet gemacht
sie/Sie hatten gemacht

The pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Ich hatte einen Spaziergang im Park gemacht.” — “I had done a walk in the park.”

Future (Futur I)

Person Form
ich werde machen
du wirst machen
er/sie/es wird machen
wir werden machen
ihr werdet machen
sie/Sie werden machen

The future (Futur I) is used for what will happen, for predictions and for intentions. For example: “Ich werde einen Spaziergang im Park machen.” — “I will do a walk in the park.”

Future perfect (Futur II)

Person Form
ich werde gemacht haben
du wirst gemacht haben
er/sie/es wird gemacht haben
wir werden gemacht haben
ihr werdet gemacht haben
sie/Sie werden gemacht haben

The future perfect (Futur II) is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Du wirst einen Spaziergang im Park gemacht haben.” — “You will have done a walk in the park.”

Konjunktiv I

Person Form
ich mache
du machest
er/sie/es mache
wir machen
ihr machet
sie/Sie machen

Konjunktiv I is used for reported speech — reporting what someone else said — and in formal written German. For example: “Er mache einen Spaziergang im Park.” — “He does a walk in the park.”

Konjunktiv II (conditional)

Person Form
ich machte
du machtest
er/sie/es machte
wir machten
ihr machtet
sie/Sie machten

Konjunktiv II is used for hypothetical situations, wishes and polite requests. It doubles as the German conditional: there is no separate conditional tense, and the periphrastic alternative with würde + infinitive is not an engine tense. For example: “Ich machte einen Spaziergang im Park.” — “I would do a walk in the park.”

Conditional perfect (Konjunktiv II + participle)

Person Form
ich hätte gemacht
du hättest gemacht
er/sie/es hätte gemacht
wir hätten gemacht
ihr hättet gemacht
sie/Sie hätten gemacht

The conditional perfect (Konjunktiv II + past participle) is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Er hätte einen Spaziergang im Park gemacht.” — “He would have done a walk in the park.”

Imperative (Imperativ)

Person Form
du mach
wir machen
ihr macht
sie/Sie machen

The imperative (Imperativ) is used for direct commands, requests and instructions. For example: “Mach einen Spaziergang im Park!” — “Do a walk in the park!”

Present participle (Partizip I)

Form German
Present participle (Partizip I) machend

The present participle (Partizip I) is used as an adjective or adverb, describing an ongoing action. For example, the participle machend is used to describe something that is happening at the same time as the main action, much like an English -ing adjective.

Past participle (Partizip II)

Form German
Past participle (Partizip II) gemacht

The past participle (Partizip II) is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Ich habe die Hausaufgaben heute Abend gemacht.” — “I have done the homework this evening.”

Infinitive (Infinitiv)

Form German
Infinitive machen

The infinitive is the dictionary form of the verb, used after modal verbs and other verbs that take an infinitive. The infinitive is the dictionary form of the verb: it is the form you look up, and the form that follows modal verbs and other verbs that take an infinitive.

Example sentences

Ten natural sentences with machen, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the German and try to produce it from the English.

  1. “Ich mache die Hausaufgaben heute Abend.” — “I do the homework this evening.”
  2. “Du machtest einen Spaziergang im Park.” — “You did a walk in the park.”
  3. “Er hat das Essen jeden Tag gemacht.” — “He has done the cooking every day.”
  4. “Ich werde die Hausaufgaben heute Abend machen.” — “I will do the homework this evening.”
  5. “Du machtest einen Spaziergang im Park.” — “You would do a walk in the park.”
  6. “Ich hatte das Essen jeden Tag gemacht.” — “I had done the cooking every day.”
  7. “Du wirst einen Spaziergang im Park gemacht haben.” — “You will have done a walk in the park.”
  8. “Er mache das Essen jeden Tag.” — “He does the cooking every day.”
  9. “Ich hätte die Hausaufgaben heute Abend gemacht.” — “I would have done the homework this evening.”
  10. “Mach die Hausaufgaben heute Abend!” — “Do the homework this evening!”

Common mistakes

1. 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 present form mache.

2. Using the wrong person’s form

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

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

machen is the sie form, not the ich form. Match the verb to the subject every time: ich goes with mache.

3. 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.

4. Using the wrong auxiliary in the Perfekt

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

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

The Perfekt of machen is formed with haben plus the past participle gemacht: the ich form is habe gemacht. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.

5. Using the preterite where spoken German prefers the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich machte die Hausaufgaben heute Abend gestern.” (in everyday speech)

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

In everyday spoken German the Perfekt habe gemacht is the usual past tense. The preterite machte is correct in writing and in stories, but it sounds formal in conversation.

6. Using the du form when talking to a group

✗ Wrong: “Mach die Hausaufgaben heute Abend!” (said to several people)

✓ Right: “Macht die Hausaufgaben heute Abend!”

The du imperative mach is for one person you know well. For a group, use the ihr form macht.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on machen. Choose the right form, 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 er/sie/es form of machen in the Preterite (Präteritum)?

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

  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 du form of machen in the Future (Futur I)?

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

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

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

  6. What is the wir form of machen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?

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

  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 du form of machen in the Imperative (Imperativ)?

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

  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. C) machte — the er/sie/es form of machen in the Preterite (Präteritum) is machte. 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. 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.
  5. C) machte — the ich form of machen in the Konjunktiv II (conditional) is machte. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. D) hatten gemacht — the wir form of machen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is hatten gemacht. 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. D) mach — the du form of machen in the Imperative (Imperativ) is mach. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. D) gemacht — the past participle of machen is gemacht; it is used with haben in the perfect tenses. 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: it follows the ordinary weak pattern in every tense. The present participle is machend and the past participle is gemacht.

What are the participles of machen?

The present participle (Partizip I) is machend — use it as an adjective for an ongoing action. The past participle (Partizip II) is gemacht — use it with haben for the perfect tenses, as in habe gemacht.

Which auxiliary does machen take in the Perfekt?

machen takes haben in the Perfekt: the ich form is habe gemacht. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with haben plus the past participle gemacht.

Does German have a separate conditional tense?

No. Konjunktiv II doubles as the conditional: the ich form machte is the form you use for “would” meanings, and the periphrastic alternative with würde + infinitive is not a separate engine tense. The conditional perfect hätte gemacht covers “would have” meanings.

How do I say “I do the homework this evening” in German?

Say “Ich mache die Hausaufgaben heute Abend.” — “I do the homework this evening.” The ich form of the present is mache, and it is the form you will use most often.

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