{"id":13485,"date":"2021-10-27T20:30:16","date_gmt":"2021-10-27T20:30:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=13485"},"modified":"2021-10-27T13:14:29","modified_gmt":"2021-10-27T13:14:29","slug":"the-difference-between-machen-and-tun-in-german","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/the-difference-between-machen-and-tun-in-german\/","title":{"rendered":"The Difference Between Machen And Tun In German"},"content":{"rendered":"

Guten Tag! Last week on the blog, I wrote about the phrase Ich habe zu tun (I\u2019m busy)<\/a> and briefly covered the verb tun \u2013 to do.<\/strong> <\/em>A lot of you asked for a post on the difference between tun<\/strong> (to do) and the more widely known machen<\/strong> (to do\/to make), so here it is!<\/p>\n

The first thing to say is that these two verbs are<\/em> quite similar, and it\u2019s difficult to explain the difference between the two. So don\u2019t be frustrated if you find them confusing \u2013 this is perfectly normal. I’ll do my best to explain. Let\u2019s start with the verb conjugations themselves (in the present tense).<\/p>\n

Machen \u2013 to do\/to make<\/h3>\n

Ich mache \u2013 I do\/make
\nDu machst \u2013 You do\/make (informal)
\nEr\/sie\/es macht \u2013 He\/she\/it does\/makes
\nWir machen \u2013 We do\/make
\nIhr macht \u2013 You do\/make (plural)
\nSie machen \u2013 You do\/make (formal)
\nsie machen \u2013 They do\/make<\/p>\n

Tun \u2013 to do<\/h3>\n

Ich tue \u2013 I do
\nDu tust \u2013 You do
\nEr\/sie\/es tut \u2013 He\/she\/it does
\nWir tun \u2013 We do
\nIhr tut \u2013 You do (plural)
\nSie tun \u2013 You do (formal)
\nsie tun \u2013 They do<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the difference between machen and tun?<\/h2>\n
\"tun\"

Ich mache mir einen Kaffee – I am making myself a coffee. Photo by Nathan Dumlao<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

The best way I can explain it is that machen <\/strong>is usually used when talking about a process<\/strong>, or a specific activity<\/strong>. For example, you can say Ich mache meine Hausaufgaben<\/strong> (I\u2019m doing my homework)<\/em>, but using\u00a0tun<\/em> to say the same thing (‘Ich tue meine Hausaufgaben’<\/em>) would make no sense, because the homework is a process\/activity. Here are a few more examples where machen<\/em> is the correct verb, and tun<\/em> would not make sense in its place:<\/p>\n

Ich mache meinen F\u00fchrerschein<\/strong> \u2013 I\u2019m learning to drive<\/p>\n

Er macht sich Sorgen<\/strong> \u2013 He is worried<\/p>\n

Ich mache mir einen Kaffee<\/strong> \u2013 I am making myself a coffee<\/p>\n

Ich mache gerade Pause<\/strong> \u2013 I\u2019m currently on a break<\/p>\n

*<\/p>\n

\"tun\"

Mein Kopf tut weh – my head hurts. Photo by Nik Shuliahin<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

So, what about tun<\/em>?<\/strong> The verb tun<\/em> is used more generally, and often involves feelings. Here are some example sentences using tun:<\/p>\n

Das tut gut<\/strong> \u2013 That\u2019s good\/ that \u2018does the world of good\u2019<\/p>\n

Das tut mir Leid<\/strong> \u2013 I\u2019m so sorry<\/p>\n

Das tut man nicht!<\/strong> – You can\u2019t do that!<\/p>\n

Das tut nichts<\/strong> \u2013 That doesn\u2019t do anything<\/p>\n

Mein Kopf tut weh<\/strong> \u2013 My head hurts\/I have a headache<\/p>\n

Ich habe zu tun<\/strong> \u2013 I am busy<\/p>\n

Das hat mit mir nichts zu tun<\/strong> \u2013 That has nothing to do with me<\/p>\n

*<\/p>\n

\"tun\"

Was machst du hier? Was tust du hier? – What are you doing here? Photo by Simon Hurry<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Now, there are some phrases where tun<\/strong> and machen<\/strong> can be used interchangeably<\/strong>, such as the following. Notice how there isn\u2019t anything specific about these phrases, though- they aren\u2019t talking about a process or activity. They are very neutral:<\/p>\n

Was tust du?
\nWas machst du?
\n– What are you doing?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Was tust du hier?
\nWas machst du hier?
\n– What are you doing here?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Was soll ich tun?
\nWas soll ich machen?
\n– What should I do?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ich will heute nichts tun.
\nIch will heute nichts machen.
\n– Today, I want to do nothing.<\/strong><\/p>\n

*<\/p>\n

If you already have a good feel for the German language, sometimes it\u2019s a case of listening out for what \u2018sounds\u2019 correct with these verbs and what doesn\u2019t. Take the following sentences \u2013 which one sounds correct?<\/p>\n

Ich will nichts mehr mit dir zu tun haben<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Ich will nichts mehr mit dir zu machen haben<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

This sentence means \u2018I want nothing more to do with you\u2019<\/strong> and the first sentence, using tun, is the correct one. The second one sounds like you\u2019re saying \u2018I want nothing more to make with you\u2019. Notice how this sentence isn\u2019t talking about a process or specific activity, but more about a feeling, so it makes sense to use tun.<\/em><\/p>\n

Here are two more sentences:<\/p>\n

Kannst du ein Foto von mir machen?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Kannst du ein Foto von mir tun?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

This sentence means \u2018Can you take a picture of me?\u2019<\/strong> and the first sentence, using machen<\/em>, is the correct one, because taking a photo is a process\/specific activity and falls under the category of something you ‘make’ (machen = to make<\/em>, as well as to do). The second sentence above is difficult to translate, because it makes little sense!<\/p>\n

\"tun\"

Kannst du ein Foto von mir machen? – Can you take a picture of me? Photo by Erik Mclean<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

I hope this has helped you to understand the difference between machen <\/em>and tun<\/em> a bit more! Granted, it is a little confusing, but the more you hear and read these two verbs used in context, the clearer it will become.<\/p>\n

Bis bald (see you soon)
\nConstanze x<\/p>\n

PS. If you like this post, you might also like this one:\u00a0German grammar in use: The conjugation of the verb \u201cmachen\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"tun\"

Guten Tag! Last week on the blog, I wrote about the phrase Ich habe zu tun (I\u2019m busy) and briefly covered the verb tun \u2013 to do. A lot of you asked for a post on the difference between tun (to do) and the more widely known machen (to do\/to make), so here it is!…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":119,"featured_media":13490,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[11971,8],"tags":[12133,95131,376023,358424,551829,166,522203],"class_list":["post-13485","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-grammar-language","category-language","tag-german-grammar","tag-german-language","tag-language","tag-machen","tag-tun","tag-verbs","tag-verbs-german"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13485","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/119"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13485"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13485\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13496,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13485\/revisions\/13496"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13490"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13485"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13485"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13485"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}