Q:

What is the proper position of "gern"?

For example, which of these is correct:

Ich esse gern Pizza

or

Ich esse Pizza gern

A:

Both are correct. To me, Ich esse gerne Pizza hints at a question like Was ist Dein Lieblingsessen, whereas Ich esse Pizza gern would be more appropriate as an answer to Magst Du Pizza? That is, I would put the important word (the one carrying new information) at the end of the phrase.

A:

Ich esse gern Pizza sounds more natural than Ich esse Pizza gern to a native speaker, even though both are correct.
Better: Ich esse gerne Pizza (standard language)

A:

It depends. When you want to express that pizza is your favourite meal you can say:

Ich esse gern Pizza.

When you admit that you would be happy to eat pizza, e.g. that has already been ordered or served, you would say:

Ich esse Pizza gern.

In the first case, I would prefer "gerne" instead of "gern".

