I am sure that you have heard of the verb “to like” before in English! It’s one of our favourite verbs. We use it all the time to talk about things that we enjoy doing.
Sono sicura che hai già sentito il verbo “to like” in inglese! È uno dei miei verbi preferiti. Lo usiamo per parlare delle cose che ci piace fare.
If we don’t like doing something, we don’t enjoy doing it!
Let’s have a look at some examples of how to use “to like” in the present simple in the affirmative and negative forms.
Bob likes playing cards with his friends on Saturday mornings.
Di sabato mattina a Bob piace giocare a carte con i suoi amici.
I like going shopping with my friends every weekend.
Mi piace andare a fare shopping con le mie amiche ogni fine settimana.
Mike doesn’t like going to the gym. He prefers going running.
A Mike non piace andare in palestra. Preferisce andare a correre.
Sara likes studying in the library because it’s much more peaceful there.
A Sara piace studiare in biblioteca perché è molto più tranquillo.
In general, children don’t like doing their homework.
Generalmente ai bambini non piace fare i compiti.
The verb “to like” is often followed by a gerund, the “-ing” form of the verb. However, it is also possible to put an infinitive after the verb “to like”. It is possible to say, for example,
Spesso il verbo “to like” è seguito da un gerundio, cioè il verbo in “ing”. Tuttavia è anche possibile usare l’infinito dopo il verbo “to like”. Possiamo dire ad esempio:
Bob likes to play cards with his friends on Saturday mornings.
Some other verbs which indicate preference are.
to love
to prefer
to hate
Look at some examples:
James loves watching films on TV whereas his sister prefers going to the cinema. James hates spending so much money just to see a film.
James loves to watch films on TV whereas his sister prefers to go to the cinema. James hates to spend so much money just to see a film.
A James piace guardare film alla tele, mentre sua sorella preferisce andare al cinema. James non sopporta dover spendere molti soldi solo per guardare un film.