55 Like, Love, Hate

Advertising

Introduction

We use the verbs like, love and hate to express positive (love or like) or negative (hate) feelings about something.

Form

When we consider the verbs like, love and hate we can find two kinds of structures, which are different in form and have slightly different meanings:
Like/Love/Hate + gerund [verb + -ing] + …
Like/Love/Hate + infinitive [to + verb] + …

The -ing form is more common than the infinitive form after hate and love.

Example

  • I like cooking.
    I like to cook on Sundays.
  • He loves travelling abroad!
    He loves to travel abroad.
  • They hate going to the doctor.
    They hate to go to the doctor.

Use

Like, love and hate are used to express our preferences and tastes in a positive or negative way.

  • Like: a favourable feeling, desire, or preference;
  • Love: an intense emotion of affection towards a person or thing;
  • Hate: to dislike (someone or something) intensely.

After the verbs we can use:

  • Gerund: to emphasize the action;
  • Infinitive: to give more emphasis to the results of the action.

Summary

The verbs like, love and hate are used to express something we like or dislike and to express preferences and tastes.

The structures are:
Like/Love/Hate + gerund [verb + -ing] + …
Like/Love/Hate + infinitive [to + verb] + …

For example:
— “I like going to the beach.” / “I like to go to the beach.” = A favourable preference.
— “I love going to the beach.” / “I love to go to the beach.” = An intense emotion or affection.
— “I hate going to the beach.” / “I hate to go to the beach.” = A dislike.

The first sentence with the structure  + gerund emphasizes the action or experience. The second one, + to-infinitive gives more emphasis to the results of the action or event.

NOTE: When we use these verbs, we can follow the verb with either the gerund or the infinitive, and even if they are different in form, they are the same in meaning.

Let’s revise this content within the {Form} section. Take a look at the {Example} section that shows its use within a context.

Exercises


The exercises are not created yet. If you would like to get involve with their creation, be a contributor.



Ambassadors

Open TextBooks are collaborative projects, with people from all over the world bringing their skills and interests to join in the compilation and dissemination of knowledge to everyone and everywhere.

Become an Ambassador and write your textbooks.

Online Teaching

Become a Books4Languages Online tutor & teacher.

More information here about how to be a tutor.

Translations


Contributors

The Books4Languages is a collaborative projects, with people from all over the world bringing their skills and interests to join in the compilation and dissemination of knowledge to everyone, everywhere.

License