"Ich kann es nicht tun."
Translation:I cannot do it.
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Hello. Could somebody be so kind as to explain the difference between "machen" and "tun"?
That's not easy to explain. In many cases (like here) you can use them interchangeably. But in some, you can't.
Machen (to make) has the additional meaning of "to create", which tun (to do) hasn't:
ich mache Frühstück - I make breakfast
Then there are many combined words which always use the one or the other, which you just have to learn:
Ich mache die Tür auf (aufmachen) - I open the door You can't say "ich tue die Tür auf"
es tut weh (wehtun) - it hurts Only little children sometimes say "es macht weh"
Personal pronouns such as es tend to be right after the verb, even before any adverbs or nicht.
It's kind of like saying "I can do not it". Grammatically, it's saying that you "can do" something, but the thing that you can do is "not it". It's a strange way to phrase it.
See here for a good guide on where to put nicht in a sentence.
Just a comment on the English. I was taught from a very young age that cannot as one word was archaic and that can not is more correct. Am I crazy?
Whoever taught you that was wrong. Anyone interested in this, have a look here:
You would not put it at the end:
Ich kann es jetzt nicht tun.
Ich kann es im Moment nicht tun.
would be two ways to express that.
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I wrote "I cannot do it" and Duolingo marked it right, though it took around 30 seconds. Can this sentence be used in intimate relation-ships also?
I think Duolingo's website might pre-load one correct answer from the database, and only search the database when you answer something else, hence taking a bit longer sometimes.
Your sentence is grammatically fine - totally normal. No reason not to use it, although if you're telling someone you can't do something you might want to be less direct about it, depending on the situation!
Can you say ich kann nicht es tun ..? Or does it have to be ich kann es nicht tun..just sounds off..