Questions & Answers about Wir machen jetzt eine Pause.
Why does the sentence use machen instead of a German word for "take"?
In English, we say we "take" a break, but in German, the set phrase is eine Pause machen (literally, "to make a break"). You will see machen used in many expressions where English uses a completely different verb!
Could I put jetzt at the end of the sentence, like in English ("We are taking a break now")?
It is much better to put jetzt where it is: right after the verb. In German, time words that tell us when something happens (like jetzt, meaning "now") usually come before the object (eine Pause).
How would I change this into a command to tell a group of friends "Take a break now!"?
To command a group of people informally (the ihr form), you drop the pronoun and use the verb with its -t ending: Macht jetzt eine Pause! If you are speaking formally (the Sie form), you keep the pronoun and swap the order: Machen Sie jetzt eine Pause!
Why is it eine Pause and not ein Pause?
The word for break or pause is a feminine noun (die Pause). Since the break is the direct object of the sentence (the thing being "made"), we use the feminine form for "a", which is eine.
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