Irregular verbs in English, past tense of Make: Make - Made - Made

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“Make” is one of the most commonly used irregular verbs in English. But how is it used in the past tense and past participle? In this guide, PREP walks you through the meaning, the past tense of Make, common expressions, and a short practice exercise to help solidify your understanding of this essential verb.

I. What is Make?
II. V0, V2, V3 of Make: The Past Tense of Make in English
III. How to Conjugate the Verb Make
1. 1. In the tenses
2. 2. In special sentence structures
IV. Phrasal verbs with Make in English
V. Idioms with Make in English
VI. Exercise on the past tense of Make with Answers
1. 1. Exercise: Conjugate the verb "make" in the following sentences:
2. 2. Answer key

I. What is Make?

Before diving into verb forms, it’s important to understand the basic meaning of “Make.”

Pronounced /meɪk/, this verb is used to describe the act of creating, producing, or causing something to happen. It functions exclusively as a verb in this context and appears frequently in both spoken and written English.

Meaning of Make	Example
Perform, produce, create	Anna likes to make cakes for her friends.
Cause, bring about	Jack’s joke always makes me laugh.
Prepare, get ready	They make plans for the weekend.
Initiate, carry out, execute	Let’s make a start on our project.
Initiate, carry out, execute	Can you make a decision by tomorrow?
Earn, generate, obtain	Kelvin made a lot of money last year.
Form, develop, evolve	Their friendship made him a better person.

II. V0, V2, V3 of Make: The Past Tense of Make in English

What is the past tense of Make? V0, V2, and V3 are the base form, past simple of Make, and past participle of Make, respectively. Let’s take a closer look at V0, V2, and V3 of Make in the table below!

Verb		Example
V0	Make /meɪk/	I make a lot of mistakes in the Math lesson.
V2	Made /meɪd/	I made a lot of mistakes in the previous Math lesson.
V3	Made /meɪd/	I have made a lot of mistakes in the last Math lesson since the teacher came.

Make past tense and past participle are: Make in past simple is Made and Make past participle form is Made. Therefore, Make past perfect is Had Made.

III. How to Conjugate the Verb Make

To use “Make” correctly in sentences, it's essential to understand how it behaves across all 12 English tenses and within special grammatical structures.

1. In the tenses

Discover how the verb “Make” changes in form across all key tenses, with examples to help you grasp its correct usage in context.

12 tenses in English	I	He/She/It	We/You/They
Present simple tense	make	makes	make
	I make breakfast every morning. He makes a cake for his sister's birthday. They make their own clothes.
Present progressive tense	am making	is making	are making
	I am making dinner right now. He is making a presentation for the meeting. They are making plans for the weekend.
Present perfect tense	have made	has made	have made
	I have made three new friends this year. He has made significant progress in his studies. They have made many improvements to the project.
Present perfect progressive tense	have been making	has been making	have been making
	I have been making jewelry for several years. He has been making videos for his YouTube channel. They have been making efforts to reduce waste.
Past simple tense	made	made	made
	I made a mistake in my report. He made a great impression during the interview. They made a documentary about wildlife.
Past progressive tense	was making	was making	were making
	I was making coffee when you called. He was making arrangements for the trip. They were making fun of his jokes.
Past perfect tense	had made	had made	had made
	I had made my decision before the deadline. He had made the necessary changes before submitting the report. They had made a lot of progress by the end of the month.
Past perfect progressive tense	had been making	had been making	had been making
	I had been making a scrapbook for months before I finished it. He had been making phone calls all morning. They had been making adjustments to the design for weeks.
Future simple tense	will make	will make	will make
	I will make a cake for the party. He will make a speech at the conference. They will make a decision by the end of the week.
Future progressive tense	will be making	will be making	will be making
	I will be making dinner when you arrive. He will be making phone calls all day tomorrow. They will be making preparations for the event.
Future perfect tense	will have made	will have made	will have made
	I will have made my reservations by next week. He will have made significant contributions to the project by then. They will have made all the necessary changes before the deadline.
Future perfect progressive tense	will have been making	will have been making	will have been making
	I will have been making these crafts for years by the time I open my shop. He will have been making progress in his fitness goals for six months. They will have been making improvements to their skills for a long time.

2. In special sentence structures

Explore how “Make” functions in complex sentence types, including passive voice, reported speech, and modal verb structures.

Special Structure	I	He/She/It	We/You/They
Conditional Sentences
Second conditional - Main Clause	would make	would make	would make
Second conditional - Main Clause	I would make a cake if I had the ingredients. She would make a presentation if she had more time. We would make a plan if we knew the details.
Third conditional - Main Clause	would have made	would have made	would have made
Third conditional - Main Clause	I would have made dinner if I had known you were coming. She would have made a better decision if she had more information. We would have made the deadline if we had started earlier.
Subjunctive
Subjunctive expressing present situation	make	make	make
Subjunctive expressing present situation contrary to fact	made	made	made
Subjunctive expressing past situation contrary to fact	had made	had made	had made
Example	If I make a mistake, I will learn from it. If she made a change, it would benefit everyone. If we had made a budget, we would have saved money.

IV. Phrasal verbs with Make in English

Aside from its standard usage, the verb “Make” also appears in a wide range of phrasal verbs that carry unique meanings. In this section, we’ll introduce you to the most common phrasal verbs with “Make”, explain their meanings, and provide example sentences to show how they’re used in real-life communication.

Phrasal Verbs with Make	Meaning	Example
Make up (with somebody)	To reconcile or become friends again after a disagreement; to create a story or excuse	After their argument, Tom and Jerry decided to make up.
Make out	To understand something, often despite difficulty or ambiguity	Samantha could barely make out the words on the distant sign.
Make off	To run away or leave quickly, often after committing a crime	The thief made off with a bag full of money.
Make into	To transform or change something into another form or entity	She made the old barn into a cozy workshop.

V. Idioms with Make in English

The verb “Make” features in many popular expressions that can’t be understood literally but are widely used by native speakers. Learning these idioms will not only expand your vocabulary but also improve your ability to express ideas more naturally.

Idioms with Make	Meaning	Example
Make ends meet	To have enough money to pay for one's basic needs and to live	After losing his job, David struggled to make ends meet.
Make a mountain out of a molehill	To exaggerate a minor issue and turn it into a significant problem	Jessica tends to make a mountain out of a molehill whenever she has a minor issue.
Make a fuss	To complain or make a commotion about something that is not important	Tom made a fuss about the bad service at the restaurant.
Make the cut	To be selected or to meet the necessary requirements	After weeks of training, Lisa was thrilled to learn she made the cut for the team.
Make a deal	To reach an agreement or an arrangement	After some negotiation, Mark and the client finally made a deal.
Make do	To use what is available, even if it is not ideal, to solve a problem	When their car broke down, they had to make do with public transport.

VI. Exercise on the past tense of Make with Answers

To reinforce your understanding, try completing this short exercise that focuses on the past and past participle forms of “Make.” Check your answers afterward to track your progress.

1. Exercise: Conjugate the verb "make" in the following sentences:

Yesterday, I ___ (make) a delicious cake for the party.
Right now, Jennie ___ (make) dinner for her family.
Jack usually ___ (make) coffee in the morning.
They ___ (make) a presentation last week.
By next year, we ___ (make) significant progress on the project.
If it rains tomorrow, I ___ (make) plans to stay inside.
I ___ (make) a mistake on my exam last time.
Anna ___ (make) a new friend during the trip.
We ___ (make) plans for the weekend yesterday.
Richard has ___ (make) several important decisions recently.

2. Answer key

made
is making
makes
made
will have made

will make
made
made
made
made

In this lesson, you’ve explored how to use the past tense of Make in its various forms—Make – Made – Made—and learned how it fits into different tenses, structures, phrasal verbs, and idioms. For more tips and practice on English grammar and vocabulary, stay connected with PREP!

Chloe

Product Content Admin

Hi I'm Chloe, and I am currently serving as an Product Content Administrator at Prep Education. With over five years of experience in independent online IELTS study and exam preparation, I am confident in my ability to support learners in achieving their highest possible scores.