German Phrase
Wir müssen es fertig machen.
Meaning
‘We have to finish it.’ The sentence expresses a clear obligation for the speaker and the group to bring a task to completion. The collocation ‘fertig machen’ is very common in everyday German and sounds natural in both spoken and written language.
When to use
Use this phrase when you want to state that a task, project, or piece of work must be completed, especially in work‑team meetings, study groups, or when coordinating household chores.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Wirmüssenesfertigmachen
Wir
First‑person plural pronoun, the subject of the sentence.
müssen
Modal verb meaning ‘must/have to’; it is conjugated in the present tense and forces the following verb into infinitive without ‘zu’.
es
Accusative neuter pronoun referring to a previously mentioned object or task.
fertig
Adjective used adverbially; together with ‘machen’ it forms the fixed collocation ‘fertig machen’ = ‘to finish, to complete’.
machen
Main verb in infinitive placed after the modal verb; here it means ‘to do/make’ in the sense of completing something.
🗨In Conversation
Wie läuft das Projekt?
How is the project going?
Wir müssen es fertig machen.
We have to finish it.
✕Common Mistakes
Machen wir es fertig.
In a declarative main clause the verb order must be Subject – Modal – Object – Adverb – Main verb. ‘Machen wir es fertig’ is a question or a command, not a statement.
Wir müssen zu es fertig machen.
Modal verbs never take ‘zu’ before the infinitive. ‘Wir müssen zu es fertig machen’ is incorrect.
Wir müssen es zu fertig machen.
When ‘müssen’ is used, the infinitive follows directly without ‘zu’. ‘Wir müssen es zu fertig machen’ is wrong.
↔Alternatives
Wir müssen es beenden.
We have to end it.
Wir sollten es fertigstellen.
We should complete it.
Wir müssen das erledigen.
We have to get that done.
Cultural Tip
‘Fertig machen’ is a colloquial but perfectly acceptable way to say ‘to finish’. In very formal writing you might prefer ‘fertigstellen’ or ‘abschließen’. Also, German modal verbs like ‘müssen’ convey a strong sense of duty; if you want to sound less forceful, replace it with ‘sollen’ or ‘sollten’. Remember that the modal verb always comes right after the subject, and the infinitive follows at the end of the clause.