Machen

Machen is a fundamental German verb meaning “to do” or “to make.” It is highly versatile, used for actions, processes, or creation, and it also serves as a building block for many compound verbs with prefixes that modify its meaning. In everyday speech, machen appears across a wide range of contexts.

Conjugation in the present and common past forms: present: ich mache, du machst, er macht, wir machen, ihr macht, Sie machen. Präteritum (simple past): ich machte, du machtest, er machte, wir machten, ihr machtet, Sie machten. The perfect tense is formed with haben: ich habe gemacht; the past participle is gemacht. Grammatically, machen is a regular (weak) verb in German.

Usage examples include performing actions and expressing completed tasks: “Ich mache Kaffee” (I am making coffee); “Ich mache meine Hausaufgaben” (I am doing my homework). It also occurs in fixed expressions with objects: “eine Prüfung machen” (to take an exam), “eine Pause machen” (to take a break). The verb often appears with a direct object to indicate the action’s target or result.

Prefixes and phrasal verbs: many prefixed forms exist, such as aufmachen (to open), zumachen (to close), anmachen (to switch on), ausmachen (to switch off or to arrange), throughmachen (to go through). In present tense, many prefixed verbs are separable, as in “Ich mache die Tür auf.” The past participle is formed with the prefix: aufgemacht, ausgemacht, etc.

Etymology and relatives: machen is of Germanic origin and is cognate with Dutch maken and English make. It is one of the most frequent German verbs and essential for everyday speech and language learning, with wide productive use in idioms and constructions.