"Er machte es nicht."

Translation: He did not do it.

[ProjectHopeless]

I got it right by saying "He did not make it." But could both of these sentences be interpreted as "He died."?

[Abendbrot]

no, he is still alive in the German sentence: "Er machte es nicht." The German sentence can be interpreted as "he did not clean[] the toilet" or another activity.

Edit: oh, your are right. Thank you.

[DanielStermer]

Not to be snobby, but it is "He did not clean* the toilet". Just a grammar FYI

[ACardAttack]

What is the difference between machen and tun?

[Katarina35]

http://german.about.com/library/blconfus_machen.htm

[Treppenwitz]

Can this be used in the sense of "he didn't make the cut"?

[deactivated user]

No, that would be "Er hat es nicht geschafft".

[Feras..]

what does "make the cut" mean anyway?

[misteress]

Usually it is when somebody wants to be part of a group, but is rejected. If they were trying to get a job, and they are turned down, then they didn't make the cut. If they try out for a sports team, and do not make it onto the team, then they did not make the cut.

[Drumknott]

When there are tryouts for a sports team, those who perform less well are "cut" from the team. There might be several "cuts" over a period of days or weeks until the final number for the team is reached, and the best players (ideally) have been selected. If an aspiring player did not survive the selection process and secure a place on the team, that player "did not make the cut."

[deactivated user]

I'm learning more American English in here than German.

[deactivated user]

What's a tryout?

[RiordanIX]

An attempt to be a part of something, usually a sports-team or a play.

[aero1005]

He did not made it
He did not manage to do it
He failed to do so

[MarkNeberg]

What would I say it in the present tense?

[-Copernicus-]

"Er macht es nicht."

Conjugation of "machen" here. (It's a regular verb, so most verbs conjugate the same way.)

[MarkNeberg]

Thanks :)

[skibo21776]

You asked the question I wanted to ask. Thanks.

[Milord_10]

Er hat es nicht gemacht.Is it the same and what is more used???

[-Copernicus-]

They're completely equivalent. Preterite ("machte") is usually used in writing, and present perfect ("hat ... gemacht") is usually used in speech.

[hechap]

So, in casual conversation, you'd say "Er hat es nicht gemacht." And if you were writing formally, you'd use "Er machte es nicht."? That seems so counterintuitive, since it's more work to say "Er hat es nicht gemacht." Is there some sort of idiomatic expression that you'd be more likely to encounter in conversation - or I guess that would be something that context would supply?

[skiesofblue]

Once again, I am hearing an r where there is none, and that confuses me.

I heard "marte', not "machte"...Is this some German sound rule I missed, or do I need to get my hearing checked?

[Em484950]

It's German, or at least Duolingo German, and it goes both ways. Every time the voice says "Rock", I hear "Hock".

[NilhornHir]

Haha your hearing is really good...I'm german and I did not noticed it...but in spoken german there is definitly no r in "machte"...but I guess even if you pronounce it like the duolingo guy everyone will understand you :)

[RafiShapir]

how would you say "he didn't do anything to it"?

[Cristalle95]

Er hat es nicht gemacht