Present tense: regular verbs

In brief

Use the German present tense (Präsens) for what happens now or regularly. With regular verbs, the ending changes to match the person. Unlike English, German can express an action in progress without a separate form like ‘am learning’: Ich lerne means both ‘I learn’ and ‘I am learning’, depending on context.

Form

Remove -en from the infinitive and add the ending: lernen → ich lerne, du lernst, er/sie/es lernt, wir lernen, ihr lernt, sie/Sie lernen.

Usage

• Use it for habits and routines, often with words such as jeden Tag (every day).
• Use it for actions happening now; jetzt (now) can make the timing clear.

Examples

• Ich lerne jeden Abend Deutsch. — I study German every evening.
• Du wohnst in Berlin. — You live in Berlin.
• Wir machen jetzt eine Pause. — We’re taking a break now.
• Meine Freunde lernen zusammen. — My friends study together.

Common mistake

❌ Du lernen Deutsch.

✅ Du lernst Deutsch.

Use the -st ending with du, not the infinitive: du lernst.

Remember

The ending tells you who is doing the action: ich lerne, but du lernst.