How regular verbs work
In German, almost all verbs in their base (infinitive) form end in -en, like lernen (to learn) or machen (to make, to do).
To use a verb in a sentence, you drop the -en to get the "stem" of the verb (for example, lern-), and then add a new ending depending on who is doing the action.
Talking about yourself: ich (I)
When you are the one doing the action, add -e to the verb stem.
Talking about someone else: er, sie, es
When talking about a third person (er = he, sie = she, es = it) or a singular noun (like das Kind or der Mann), add -t to the verb stem.
Expressing "like to" with gern
German doesn't use a separate verb to say you like doing an activity. Instead, you simply use the action verb and add the word gern (gladly) after it.
The Golden Rule: Verb in the second position
In a standard German statement, the conjugated verb must always be the second element.
Most of the time, the subject (the person or thing doing the action) comes first, followed by the verb in position two.
However, you can also put a time or place word at the beginning of the sentence for emphasis. If you start a sentence with a word like jetzt (now) or hier (here), the verb must still be the second element. This pushes the subject to the third position, right after the verb.
Describing actions (Adverbs)
In English, we often add "-ly" to an adjective to describe how an action is done (quick → quickly). In German, you don't need to change the word at all. The same word is used for both.