How to I rapid shot/shutter with the Nikon D5000?

I got one about six months ago and have not figured out how to… Help? I want to take the most pictures I can per second.

Look on page 65 of your user manual.

If you look on the Nikon website, it shows that 4 fps is the continuous shooting rate

What is your goal in shooting continuously? Are you making GIF animated files?

Shooting action or sports using this method almost guarantees you will miss the prefect shot.

Do what the the pros do. Anticipate the action and time the shot at the peak of action. It may take a few months to get this down, but in the end you will have only one shot that is perfect and not thirty or forty that are almost great.

Sample action shot in the single shot mode.

And another

There are NO short cuts.

Six months trying to figure out something that is plainly explained in the owners manual that came with the camera? Is there some kind of "logic" there that escapes me?