Present Tense (Präsens) in German
The Präsens tense is used to talk about present or future actions. In German, when a sentence is in the Präsens tense, it can translate to either the present simple or present continuous tense in English. The exact meaning depends on the context.
Examples:
- Ich lerne Deutsch. — I learn German. (present simple)
- Ich lerne Deutsch. — I am learning German. (present continuous)
The Präsens tense is also used to talk about the future when a future time word is present, such as morgen (tomorrow):
- Ich lerne morgen Deutsch. — I will learn German tomorrow.
Exceptions to this pattern include the verbs sein (to be) and haben (to have), which have their own conjugation patterns. This is part of German Grammar A1, Chapter 1.