Expressing likes and dislikes

This is not the first time you read about like. There is a previous post on this blog with songs and examples, check it here. Let’s have a more thorough explanation here:

To talk about your preferences, you can use these expressions:

We can find some synonyms to these expressions to make your writing more varied:

++++	I love English	I am a fan of English	My favourite subject is English
+++	I like sweets very much	I like sweets a lot	I really like sweets
++	I like chocolate
+	I don’t mind fish.I don’t mind peppers	Fish is OKPeppers are OK
-	I don’t like fruit very much	I don’t like fruit a lot
- -	I don’t like tomatoes	I dislike tomatoes
- – -	I hate sausages	I really dislike sausages	I dislike tomatoes a lot
- - – -	I really hate sausages	I detest sausages	I don’t like sausages at all

Finally, you can state your preference over two different things:

I prefer tomatoes to lettuce.

Things to remember about likes and dislikes:

1. When these expressions are followed by an action, the verb needs the -ing form. Check -ing spelling rules in a previous post.

Examples: I like listening to music, I hate wearing sunglasses.

American English has an alternative structure: they do not use the -ing form of the verb after like, they use -to infinitive. Look at the examples:

I like listening to music (UK) – I like to listen to music (US)

I hate wearing glasses(UK) – I hate to wear glasses (US)

Note: Our textbooks use the UK format.

2. You can agree on someone’s likes and dislikes…

(+) Mary likes oranges and I like them too = Mary likes oranges and I also like them.

(-) Mary doesn’t like oranges and I don’t like them either.

…or you can have a different opinion:

I like chocolate but she doesn’t – She doesn’t like chocolate but I do.

Are you ready to complete some exercises? Click on Mrs Haquet’s book.

Source: EOI Elx