IDF: Expressing Likes and Dislikes - Review

Expressing Likes and Dislikes - Review

Before moving on, let's review expressions for liking and disliking in German.

gern(e)/nicht gern(e)

Using the little word 'gern' (remember, it can also be spelled gerne) is enough to show that you like doing something. But please remember: 'gern' is NOT a verb, but an adverb. It needs to go with a verb. Just put it after the verb:

  • Ich reite gern. 
    • I like riding

Do this even if there is more information after the verb:

  • Ich gehe gern ins Kino.
    • I like going to the movies

If you don't like something, just put nicht gern:

  • Ich reite nicht gern. Ich gehe nicht gern ins Kino.
    • I don't like riding. I don't like going to the movies.

If you prefer one thing rather than something else, just put lieber:

  • Reitest du gern? Ich gehe lieber ins Kino.
    • Do you like riding? I prefer going to the movies.

If something is your favorite thing of all, then put am liebsten:

  • Spielst du lieber Tennis oder Badminton? Ich spiele lieber Tennis aber ich spiele Fußball am liebsten.
    • Do you prefer playing tennis or badminton? I prefer tennis, but what I really love is playing football.

mögen

The most straightforward way to say "I like"/"I don't like" is to use the verb mögen (to like).

  • Ich mag …/Ich mag … nicht, etc.

Use mögen with nouns only! Do not use mögen with another verb.

  • With noun, use mögen: Ich mag Schokolade.
    • I like chocolate.
  • With another verb, use gern: Ich esse gern Schokolade.
    • I like eating chocolate.

Here are the present tense forms of the verb mögen:

  • ich mag - I like
  • du magst - you like (singular informal)
  • er/sie/es mag - he/she/it likes
  • wir mögen - we like
  • ihr mögt - you like (plural, informal)
  • sie/Sie mögen - they/You like (formal, singular or plural)

gefallen

For the sake of variety and complexity you can also use the verb gefallen which means to please. This verb is usually only used in the 3rd person: the er/sie/es and the sie (plural) forms.

  • Mein Dorf gefällt mir gut.
    • I like my village very much. (My village is very please to me.)
  • Gefällt dir Deutsch?
    • Do you like German? (Is German pleasing to you?)
  • Deutsch und Französisch gefallen mir gut.
    • I like German and French. (German and French are pleasing to me.)

As you can see from the examples, it is possible to use gefallen to express a personal like by using the dative form of the personal pronoun (it is pleasing to me, you, us, etc.):

  • es gefällt mir = It is pleasing to me = I like it
  • es gefällt dir = It is pleasing to you = You like it (singular informal)
  • es gefällt ihm = It is pleasing to him = He likes it
  • es gefällt ihr = It is pleasing to her = She likes it
  • es gefällt uns = It is pleasing to us = We like it
  • es gefällt euch = It is pleasing to you = You like it (plural, informal)
  • es gefällt ihnen = It is pleasing to them = They like it
  • es gefällt Ihnen = It is pleasing to you (formal) = You like it (formal, singular or plural)

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