German/Verbs: Present 1

CONJUGATING REGULAR VERBS
Verb conjugation in German is more challenging than in English. To conjugate a regular verb in the present tense, identify the invariant stem of the verb and add the ending corresponding to any of the grammatical persons, which you can simply memorize:

machen  (to do/make): Notice that the 1st and the 3rd person plural have the same ending as "you (formal)."

NO CONTINUOUS ASPECT
In German, there's no continuous aspect, i.e. there are no separate forms for "I drink" and "I am drinking". There's only one form:  Ich trinke.

There's no such thing as  Ich bin trinke  or  Ich bin trinken!

When translating into English, how can I tell whether to use the simple (I drink) or the continuous form (I am drinking)?

Unless the context suggests otherwise, either form should be accepted.

HOW DO YOU LIKE THINGS IN GERMAN?
Use the verb  mögen  to express that you like something or someone, and use the adverb  gern(e)  to express that you like doing something.

mögen  is used for things, animals, and people:
Ich mag Bier (I like beer)

Sie mag Katzen (She likes cats)

Wir mögen dich (We like you)

Ihr mögt Bücher (You like books)

mögen  is conjugated irregularly:

gern(e)  is used for verbs/activities:
Ich trinke gern(e) Bier (I like to drink beer/I like drinking beer)

Er spielt gern(e) Fußball (He likes to play soccer/He likes playing soccer)

Wir lesen gern(e) Bücher (We like to read books/We like reading books)

Sie schreibt gern(e) Briefe (She likes to write letters/She likes writing letters)

mögen  cannot be followed by another verb.

(The subjunctive form  (möchten)  can be followed by a verb, but  Ich möchte Fußball spielen  translates as  I would like to play soccer, not  I like playing soccer .)

What's the difference between  gern  and  gerne ? They're just variations of the same word. There's no difference in terms of meaning or style. You can use whichever you like best.