It is used to express both present and future. In German the present continuous tense is formed with the particle "gerade". "Gerade" is the equivalent of the gerund form in English. The verb trinken is a strong (irregular) verb meaning "to drink." It is a very handy verb to know for traveling to German-speaking countries, or even just singing German drinking songs. The German Präsens (or Gegenwartsform) is the only tense to express the present.From all German tenses, the Präsens is the one that is used the most. The Present Tense in English Versus German. In the present tense, there are many irregular verb forms that must be memorized. In some cases, the forms follow consistent patterns. Learn how to use the present tense in German in this guide for students aged 11 to 14 from BBC Bitesize. You have: the simple present tense (I learn German) the present perfect (I have learned German) Take a look at these 2 phrases: I study German Ich lerne Deutsch. Present Tense Conjugation. ** Instead, you can just translate them with the equivalent non-continuous form, in this case the Präsens : Ich lese . This particle makes the action sound like it is taking place at this very moment. Don’t make the mistake of trying to translate them directly with the present participle; Ich bin lesend for I am reading is incorrect. Fortunately for you, these forms don’t exist in German. So, as I have already mentioned, this language stand for the progressive present and the simple present compared to the English language. Once you learn the pattern for one regular German verb, you know how all German verbs are conjugated.Yes, there are irregular verbs that don't always follow the rules, but even they will usually have the same endings as the regular verbs. In the English language, there are a few different forms of the present tense that we have to learn, and this is one of the reasons why learning English as a second language can be pretty difficult for some people. Note that in German, there is no distinction between present simple and present progressive. In these exercises, you will practice present tense verb conjugation. The regular German verbs follow a predictable pattern in the present tense. The present tense helps you talk about what you do, or are doing right now. The German present tense, or also called the simple present (“Präsens” in German), is used to talk about the present and the future in German. This tense is always taught first because it is our most important and basic tense.