Tun ("to do") is a short, ancient, deeply irregular verb that no longer fits any of the standard verb classes. English speakers reach for it constantly because tun looks like a perfect match for English do — but the two verbs divide the labour very differently. In German, the workhorse for "doing" something concrete is usually machen, while tun survives mostly in a handful of high-frequency idioms (weh tun, leid tun), in colloquial speech, and as a placeholder verb. Learning where tun genuinely belongs — and where a learner should reach for machen instead — is half the battle.
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Präteritum | Partizip II (auxiliary) |
|---|---|---|
| tun | tat | getan (hat) |
Read this as: tun – tat – hat getan. The Perfekt auxiliary is haben, because tun is a transitive verb with no built-in motion or change of state. The infinitive tun is itself irregular — it ends in -n, not the usual -en (compare machen, sagen), one of only a tiny group of verbs (tun, sein) shaped this way.
Präsens (present)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | tue |
| du | tust |
| er / sie / es | tut |
| wir | tun |
| ihr | tut |
| sie / Sie | tun |
Note that the ich-form keeps its -e (ich tue) — it is not usually dropped the way it can be with longer verbs. The wir and sie/Sie forms are simply the bare infinitive tun, which is why this verb feels so compact.
Was tust du da eigentlich?
What on earth are you doing there? (informal — a real reproach or surprise)
Ich tue, was ich kann.
I'm doing what I can. (set phrase, slightly emphatic)
Präteritum (simple past)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | tat |
| du | tatst |
| er / sie / es | tat |
| wir | taten |
| ihr | tatet |
| sie / Sie | taten |
The Präteritum stem is tat-, with the classic strong-verb vowel change from u to a. In conversation, the weh tun idiom is the one place where the Präteritum tat is heard naturally even in speech (es tat weh — "it hurt"); elsewhere spoken German prefers the Perfekt.
Der Sturz tat höllisch weh, aber gebrochen war nichts.
The fall hurt like hell, but nothing was broken. (informal narration)
Sie taten so, als hätten sie nichts gehört.
They acted as if they hadn't heard anything. (so tun, als ob — to pretend)
Perfekt (present perfect)
Built with the present of haben plus the participle getan.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | habe getan |
| du | hast getan |
| er / sie / es | hat getan |
| wir | haben getan |
| ihr | habt getan |
| sie / Sie | haben getan |
Ich habe heute schon so viel getan, dass ich kaum noch stehen kann.
I've done so much today already that I can barely stand. (informal)
Was hast du mit meinem Handy getan?
What have you done with my phone? (informal — alarmed)
Plusquamperfekt (past perfect)
Past form of the auxiliary (hatte) + getan.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hatte getan |
| du | hattest getan |
| er / sie / es | hatte getan |
| wir | hatten getan |
| ihr | hattet getan |
| sie / Sie | hatten getan |
Sie bereute zutiefst, was sie ihm angetan hatte.
She deeply regretted what she had done to him. (literary; note the prefix verb antun)
Futur I and Futur II
The future tenses use werden + infinitive (Futur I) or werden + Partizip II + haben (Futur II).
| Person | Futur I | Futur II |
|---|---|---|
| ich | werde tun | werde getan haben |
| du | wirst tun | wirst getan haben |
| er / sie / es | wird tun | wird getan haben |
| wir | werden tun | werden getan haben |
| ihr | werdet tun | werdet getan haben |
| sie / Sie | werden tun | werden getan haben |
Keine Sorge, ich werde alles tun, um dir zu helfen.
Don't worry, I'll do everything to help you. (slightly formal reassurance)
Imperativ (commands)
| Addressee | Form |
|---|---|
| du | tu (tue) |
| ihr | tut |
| Sie | tun Sie |
The du-imperative is normally the short Tu! in speech; the fuller Tue! is possible but sounds stiff or old-fashioned.
Tu das sofort weg, bevor Mama es sieht!
Put that away right now before Mom sees it! (informal; tu ... weg = wegtun, to put away)
Tun Sie sich keinen Zwang an, greifen Sie zu.
Please don't hold back, help yourself. (formal idiom; sich keinen Zwang antun)
Konjunktiv II (would / were)
The synthetic Konjunktiv II of tun is täte — note the umlaut on the a of the past stem tat. It is alive and well, both in standard hypotheticals and, colloquially, as a substitute for würde (a usage many teachers discourage in writing).
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | täte |
| du | tätest |
| er / sie / es | täte |
| wir | täten |
| ihr | tätet |
| sie / Sie | täten |
An deiner Stelle täte ich das nicht.
If I were you, I wouldn't do that. (synthetic Konjunktiv II — natural and idiomatic)
Das täte mir wirklich leid.
I would be truly sorry about that. (leid tun in Konjunktiv II)
tun vs. machen
This is the distinction English speakers most need. English do covers both German verbs, but they are not interchangeable:
| Use machen for… | Use tun for… |
|---|---|
| making/producing something (Kaffee machen, Hausaufgaben machen) | fixed idioms (weh tun, leid tun, gut tun) |
| concrete activities (Sport machen, Urlaub machen) | placing/putting in colloquial speech (etwas in die Tasche tun) |
| "How are you?" — Wie geht's, NOT with tun | the abstract "do" of having something to do (zu tun haben) |
As a rule of thumb: if you can replace English do with make, use machen; if do is part of a set German phrase, it is probably tun.
Ich habe heute noch viel zu tun.
I still have a lot to do today. (zu tun haben — fixed; never 'zu machen haben')
Government and valency
Tun is a transitive verb taking the accusative (etwas tun). In its key idioms, however, it pairs with a dative of the affected person:
| Construction | Case | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| weh tun | dative (person) + sometimes accusative (body part as subject) | to hurt (someone) |
| leid tun | dative (the person who feels sorry) | to be sorry / to feel pity |
| gut tun | dative | to do (someone) good |
| antun | dative (person) + accusative (thing) | to do (something) to (someone) |
These datives are datives of interest — they mark the person affected, not a direct object. That is why "I'm sorry" is Es tut mir leid (literally "it does to-me sorrow"), with mir in the dative, not ich.
Es tut mir leid, ich habe deinen Geburtstag total vergessen.
I'm sorry, I completely forgot your birthday. (the single most common use of tun)
Ein bisschen Ruhe würde dir bestimmt gut tun.
A little rest would surely do you good. (gut tun + dative)
Common idioms and fixed expressions
| Expression | English |
|---|---|
| Es tut mir leid. | I'm sorry. |
| Das tut weh. | That hurts. |
| so tun, als ob … | to pretend / act as if … |
| Das tut nichts zur Sache. | That's beside the point. |
| sich schwertun (mit) | to struggle (with) / find hard |
| Was soll ich nur tun? | Whatever am I to do? |
Ich tue mich mit der Grammatik immer noch schwer.
I still struggle with the grammar. (sich schwertun mit — reflexive, dative reflexive sich)
Common Mistakes
❌ Ich habe meine Hausaufgaben getan.
Wrong verb — homework is 'made' in German; you produce/complete it, so use machen.
✅ Ich habe meine Hausaufgaben gemacht.
I did my homework.
❌ Es tut mich leid.
Wrong case — the person who is sorry stands in the dative, not the accusative.
✅ Es tut mir leid.
I'm sorry.
❌ Ich habe schon getan.
Missing object — transitive tun needs one; English can leave 'done' bare, German cannot.
✅ Ich habe es schon getan.
I've already done it. (haben + accusative object es)
❌ Tust du das wegmachen?
Substandard 'do-support' — don't use tun as a colloquial auxiliary in standard German.
✅ Machst du das bitte weg?
Could you put that away please?
❌ Das tut mir nicht weh.
Acceptable, but watch the umlaut elsewhere — the Konjunktiv II is täte, not 'tate'.
✅ Das täte mir nicht weh.
That wouldn't hurt me. (Konjunktiv II täte with umlaut)
Key Takeaways
- Principal parts: tun – tat – hat getan (Perfekt with haben).
- Present: tue, tust, tut, tun, tut, tun — the ich-form keeps its -e.
- High-value standalones: tat (past), täte (Konjunktiv II, with umlaut), and the idioms es tut mir leid, das tut weh.
- The affected person in weh/leid/gut tun is dative (mir, dir, ihm), never accusative.
- For concrete "doing/making," German usually prefers machen; reserve tun for its fixed idioms.
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- Past Participles of Mixed and Irregular VerbsB1 — The small closed set of German verbs whose participle changes the vowel but ends weak in -t, plus the truly irregular participles.
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