"Sie machen Kaffee."

Translation: They make coffee.

[benjamin_hughes]

I wrote "you are making coffee". Can anyone explain why 'Sie' can't be formal 'you' here? thanxx

[SimoneBa]

It most certainly can. They're missed that. Report it.

[tompe97]

Could you please explain how Sie, in this example, could mean both "they" and "you (formal)", wouldn't the "you" version be "Sie machst"? Just confused a little.
Thanks in advance!

[mizinamo]

No, the formal "you" always acts exactly like "they", except that it is capitalised.

So you have sie machen "they make" and therefore Sie machen "you make".

machst is only used for du (singular informal "you").

[MJaneA7]

I thought that 'Sie' meant she or they. Aren't 'du' and 'ihr' you?

[mizinamo]

Lowercase sie means "she" or "they". (Capitalised when it's the first word of a sentence, of course.)

Uppercase Sie is formal "you". (This word is always capitalised.) This word is taught later in the course.

du and ihr are informal "you" -- singular and plural, respectively. You'd use them when speaking to a friend or a child, for example, while you would use the polite Sie to speak to an adult stranger (or to several of them -- the polite "you" doesn't make a distinction in German between one or several).

[MJaneA7]

Ok! Danke.

[Kristin386374]

how do I tell the deference between she and they ? sie

[GregBee1]

verb conjugation = Sie machen = you make/they make. Sie macht = she makes

[Lfy92]

In this sentence, they should accept both "they" and "you formal". The difference between she and they would be the verb ending. She = t they = en.

[MJaneA7]

I find it easiest to tell by the verb. Hope I helped!

[bogg22]

I have also seen Kaffee kochen.... Are they both used?

[Abendbrot]

Yes, both are used.

Sie kochen Kaffee. (~to cook), Sie machen Kaffee.(~to make)

[mohsen682816]

I want to know the difference between this to sentences in german
They are making coffee
They make coffee

[Abendbrot]

There is no difference in German, because we do not have continous forms. We just talk by using a grammar which looks like: "They make coffee." or "They make coffee right now."

[Will709432]

So if in make Sie for they and Sie for you both have the same conjugation machen, then how do we know if it's they or you when sie is capitalised at the start of the sentence?

[mizinamo]

You can't.

[TiffanyTea01]

I'm confused with these verbs and their meanings: Mag, Mochte, and Mach. Can someone please give me all their tenses and their meanings? I looked in HELP, but couldn't find it.