Give him some prescriptive formulas. He can look up the magic incantation for each task he needs to do.

Deeper understanding of git can happen gradually. For now he just needs to be able to do a basic workflow.

    ################################
    # download a new project to local disk
    cd ~/projects
    git clone someUrl

    ################################
    # get latest code
    git pull

    ################################
    # observe the general state of things.
    # Run status liberally, before/after any git operation.
    git status

    ################################
    # commit changes and push them up the the server.
    # This is the bread an butter of your git usage.
    git add .
    git commit
    # good idea to pull in the latest changes before you push up.
    git pull
    git push

    ################################
    # resolve merge conflicts after a pull
    git pull
    # alert merge conflicts! git status will tell you which files conflict.
    git status
    # edit each file with conflicts. Conflicts are flagged in file with ">>>>"
    # replace the ">>>>" sections with the final resolved code.
    # now check them in and push up the the server.
    git add .
    git commit
    git push

    ################################
    # develop in a feature branch
    git checkout -b featureX
    # make changes like nomral. add, commit your changes.
    # if this is a private branch on your local box only, you do not push.
    git add .
    git commit
    # periodically pull in the code from the parent branch so you don't drift apart
    git fetch origin
    git rebase origin/master
    # feature complete. Merge feature back to master.
    git checkout master
    git pull            # get latest master code
    git merge featureX
    git push