The irregular verb "tun" in German
Meaning of "tun" in German
The verb "tun" means:
1.-to do, to commit, to make
Was tust du gerade?
What are you doing right now?
Heute Abend kann ich nicht mitkommen, ich habe zu tun
I can't come this evening; I have things to do
Expressions:
Es tut mir leid
I'm sorry
Es tut weh
It hurts
Differences between "tun" and "machen"
A frequent question is what is the difference between "machen" and "tun".
Often, they are synonyms and can be used interchangeably even though machen is more common in these cases (it depends on the region).
In a few cases, only the use of "tun" is correct, especially in fixed expressions:
Er hat zu tun
He has stuff to do
Tut mir leid
I'm sorry
Grammar of "tun"
tun is an irregular verb with haben as auxiliary verb.
| Verb | 3rd Person | Präteritum | Partizip II | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| tun | tut | tat | getan | to do |
Main article: Irregular verbs
Conjugation of "tun"
Present simple (Präsens Indikativ)
| Conjugation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ich tue | I do |
| du tust | you do |
| er tut | he does |
| wir tun | we do |
| ihr tut | you do |
| sie tun | they do |
Perfect (Perfekt)
| Conjugation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ich habe getan | I have done |
| du hast getan | you have done |
| er hat getan | he has done |
| wir haben getan | we have done |
| ihr habt getan | you have done |
| sie haben getan | they have done |
Simple past (Präteritum)
| Conjugation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ich tat | I did |
| du tatst | you did |
| er tat | he did |
| wir taten | we did |
| ihr tatet | you did |
| sie taten | they did |
Subjunctive II (Konjunktiv II)
| Conjugation |
|---|
| ich täte |
| du tätest |
| er täte |
| wir täten |
| ihr tätet |
| sie täten |
Participle (Partizip)
Attention: "Tun" is one of the few irregular verbs in its "Partizip I" form.
| Partizip I | Partizip II |
|---|---|
| tuend (doing) | getan (done) |
Imperative (Imperativ)
| Person | Conjugation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 2nd person singular | tu / tue | do |
| 2nd person plural | tut | do |
| Polite form | tun Sie | do |
Tu die Blumen in eine Vase und stell sie auf den Tisch
Put the flowers in a vase and put it on the table
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