Fari is the regular transitive verb for both “do” and “make.” It can create a concrete or abstract result, perform an action named by its object, stand for an action already understood, or connect an object with a resulting description. Its range is broad, but not unlimited: English auxiliary do is never translated with fari, and English “make someone do something” normally requires igi.
Complete regular paradigm
| Form | Function | Typical translation |
|---|---|---|
| fari | infinitive | to do, to make |
| faras | present indicative | do(es), make(s) |
| faris | past indicative | did, made |
| faros | future indicative | will do, will make |
| farus | conditional | would do, would make |
| faru | volitive | do!, make!, let ... do |
Mi faras la vespermanĝon, dum Leo metas la tablon.
I'm making dinner while Leo sets the table.
Kion vi farus, se vi trovus monujon sur la strato?
What would you do if you found a wallet in the street?
The form is identical with every subject: mi faras, ŝi faras, ili faras. Farus expresses an imagined action, and faru expresses a wanted action; neither is another tense.
Faru kopion antaŭ ol vi redaktos la originalan dosieron.
Make a copy before you edit the original file.
Making a concrete or abstract result
In its clearest creative sense, the subject brings the object into existence or assembles it from material.
Mia avo faris ĉi tiun tablon el malnova kverka ligno.
My grandfather made this table from old oak wood.
La infanoj faris paperajn lanternojn por la festo.
The children made paper lanterns for the party.
The created result is the direct object and takes accusative -n. Material commonly follows el: farita el ligno, farita el reciklita plasto. Krei overlaps with fari but tends to foreground originality or bringing something new into existence; fari is the neutral verb for producing or assembling.
Abstract results work the same way:
Ni faris planon por redukti la kostojn sen maldungi iun.
We made a plan to reduce costs without dismissing anyone.
Mi faris eraron en la adreso, do la pakaĵo revenis.
I made a mistake in the address, so the package came back.
Frequent combinations include fari decidon, fari proponon, fari demandon, fari mendon, fari promeson, fari provon, and fari vojaĝon. Esperanto's derivational system often offers a shorter verb—decidi, proponi, demandi, mendi, promesi, provi, vojaĝi. Both versions can be correct, but the simple verb is often more direct.
Performing an action and standing for one
Fari can mean “carry out” when its object names an action or task.
Mi ankoraŭ devas fari mian hejmtaskon kaj respondi tri retmesaĝojn.
I still have to do my homework and answer three emails.
It can also replace an action that is already clear, especially with kion, tion, nenion, ĉion, or same.
— Kion vi faras? — Mi serĉas la fakturon, sed mi trovas nenion.
— What are you doing? — I'm looking for the invoice, but I can't find anything.
Ana mendis la vegetaran pladon, kaj mi faris same.
Ana ordered the vegetarian dish, and I did the same.
In the last example, faris same recovers “ordered the vegetarian dish” from context. This pro-verb use resembles English do so, but it is not an auxiliary. Esperanto questions and negations do not insert fari: Ĉu vi konas ŝin? and Mi ne konas ŝin, never an English-like structure with “do.”
Causing an object to become something
Fari can take a direct object plus a predicative adjective or noun that names the result. The object takes -n; the result description does not.
La nova fenestro faris la ĉambron multe pli hela.
The new window made the room much brighter.
La membroj elektis ŝin prezidanto, kaj la nova rolo faris ŝin pli memfida.
The members elected her president, and the new role made her more self-confident.
In faris la ĉambron hela, la ĉambron is the object and hela is its resulting property. Writing helan would instead attach the adjective inside the object phrase and describe a room that was already bright.
The noun result also remains without -n: fari ŝin prezidanto. This pattern is foundational and productive, but many everyday changes sound more concise with -igi: La nova fenestro heligis la ĉambron.
Fari, fariĝi, and igi
These three structures assign roles differently:
| Structure | Who changes? | Example |
|---|---|---|
| fari ion ia/io | the object changes because of the subject | La novaĵo faris lin trista. |
| fariĝi ia/io | the subject changes, with no external causer stated | Li fariĝis trista. |
| igi iun fari | the object is caused to perform an action | La novaĵo igis lin plori. |
Post kelkaj jaroj ŝi fariĝis sperta inĝeniero.
After a few years she became an experienced engineer.
Fariĝi is intransitive: the changing entity is its subject, and the resulting adjective or noun does not take accusative. The shorter iĝi is also standard and increasingly common, while fariĝi remains neutral and deeply established in the language.
For an action result, use igi + object + infinitive, not fari + object + infinitive:
La alarma sono igis ĉiujn forlasi la konstruaĵon.
The alarm made everyone leave the building.
PMEG explicitly distinguishes these frames: fari links an object to an adjective or noun result; igi can link it to an infinitive action. See Valency-Changing Derivation for the full causative system.
Participles and compound forms
Because fari is transitive, it has both active and passive participles.
| Time relation | Active | Passive |
|---|---|---|
| ongoing | faranta — doing/making | farata — being done/made |
| earlier/completed | farinta — having done | farita — done/made |
| later/intended | faronta — about to do | farota — to be done/made |
La plej urĝa laboro estas jam farita; la cetero estas farata nun kaj estos preta morgaŭ.
The most urgent work is already done; the rest is being done now and will be ready tomorrow.
Farita commonly describes a completed result and appears in compounds such as manfarita “handmade” and hejme farita “homemade.” Compound finite forms such as estis farinta or estis farita are grammatical, but simple faris normally suffices for an ordinary past active event. Use the compound when the state or voice contrast matters.
Productive family members
- fariĝi means “become”; igi expresses caused action or change.
- refari means redo or remake; malfari undo or dismantle; misfari do wrongly.
- faraĵo is something made or a deed; farado is the activity or process of doing.
- farebla means feasible, farinda worth doing, and farenda required to be done.
La kalkulo estas refarenda, ĉar iu misfaris la lastan paŝon.
The calculation has to be redone because someone did the last step incorrectly.
These formations are regular, but register matters. Farenda is concise and common in (formal) or technical prose; in conversation, oni devas refari la kalkulon may sound more transparent.
Register and frequency
Fari is extremely frequent and neutral across speech and writing. Good style does not require avoiding it, but precise verbs reduce vagueness: fotografi rather than fari foton, esplori rather than fari esploron, when the simpler verb fits. Fixed collocations and deliberate focus on the action noun can still favor fari.
Common Mistakes
Translating English auxiliary do
❌ Ĉu vi faras ŝati tiun muzikon?
Incorrect — Esperanto forms the question with ĉu and no auxiliary fari.
✅ Ĉu vi ŝatas tiun muzikon?
Do you like that music?
Omitting the accusative on the result object
❌ Mi faris kuko por la festo.
Incorrect — the thing made is a direct object.
✅ Mi faris kukon por la festo.
I made a cake for the party.
Copying “make someone do” with fari
❌ La ŝerco faris min ridi.
Incorrect — an infinitive result requires the causative igi pattern.
✅ La ŝerco igis min ridi.
The joke made me laugh.
Confusing fari and fariĝi
❌ Post la pluvo la aero faris pli freŝa.
Incorrect — the air itself changed state, so an intransitive change verb is needed.
✅ Post la pluvo la aero fariĝis pli freŝa.
After the rain the air became fresher.
Key Takeaways
- Fari regularly covers both “do” and “make” and normally takes a direct object.
- It can link an object to a resulting adjective or noun, which does not take -n.
- Use fariĝi/iĝi for a subject's change and igi to cause someone to perform an action.
- English auxiliary do has no counterpart in Esperanto questions and negatives.
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Start learning Esperanto →Related Topics
- Collocations with FariA2 — Use fari naturally with action and result nouns while avoiding literal copies of English do and make expressions.
- Transitive and Intransitive VerbsA2 — Learn which verbs license a direct object, which require another construction, and how Esperanto systematically changes valency.
- Valency-Changing DerivationB1 — Use -ig- and -iĝ- to add a causer, remove a causer, and build precise causative and change-of-state verbs in Esperanto.
- Predicative Complements and the AccusativeB1 — Distinguish Esperanto predicative complements from accusative objects and attributive modifiers, especially in clauses that describe an object.
- -ig-: CausationB2 — Use -ig- to make something acquire a quality, enter a state, or perform an action, while tracking how causation changes verb valency.
- Okazi: To Happen Or OccurC1 — Use intransitive okazi with event subjects, recognize postposed subjects, and distinguish an occurrence from causative okazigi.