Seite 9

Likes and Dislikes

Likes and Dislikes Overview

Degrees and dimensions of favor and disfavor for all things can be highly expressive and nuanced.
There is no generic "to like" in German as there is in English, although the verb mögen is coming ever closer in its colloquial uses (probably influenced by English). Here are a few verbal constructions that are used in German to express likes and dislikes:

Verbal constructions
gern + verbnicht gern + verb
gern haben nicht gern haben
mögen nicht mögen
gefallen nicht gefallen / mißfallen
lieben hassen
schmecken (food and drink)nicht schmecken

  • For now we will focus on gern + verb and nicht gern + verb to express liking and not liking to do things.

  • The word gern is translated in the dictionary as the adverb "gladly". However, this does not acurately reflect the usage of the word.

  • The word gern is an adverb and thus modifies the verb. Therefore, gern usually follows the verb in a sentence:
    Heike spielt gern Gitarre. = "Heike likes to play guitar."

  • However, it is not unusual to find gern in a post-position, expecially in shorter sentences:
    Heike spielt Gitarre gern. In longer sentences, gern must follow the verb:
    Heike spielt gern Gitarre abends mit Freunden zu Hause.

  • When expressing disliking an activity, the words nicht gern stay together, because nicht modifies the adverb gern. Example: Heike arbeitet nicht gern am Sonntag. Studenten essen nicht gern in der Mensa. ("die Mensa"=student cafeteria)

  • The same applies to other words that modify gern, such as auch (also) and sehr (very). Example: Ich spiele gern Golf und Johann spielt auch gern Golf. Wir spielen sehr gern Golf.

Übung 1-9a. "Was macht Spaß?" Check off the things you think are fun (Spaß machen) Related exercise in BOLT.

  1. Check off five things you find fun or that you like to do. If you cannot find five things that appeal to you, then pretend you like to do something.
  2. Ask three people if they like to do something. Use only German!
  3. For each person, note down a) name (Wie heißt du?) b) one thing they like to do and c) one thing they do not like to do.
  4. Report to the group what all three like and not like to do.
Beispiele (examples):
Frage (question) Antwort (answer)
Ich spiele Golf gern. Spielst du Golf auch gern? Nein, ich spiele Golf nicht gern.
Ich gehe gern joggen. Gehst du auch gern joggen? Ja, ich gehe auch gern joggen.
Was machst du gern? Ich spiele Tischtennis gern. Und du?
Was machst du nicht so gern?Ich spiele Schach nicht so gern.
  • schwimmen
  • wandern
  • im Internet surfen
  • Gewichte heben
  • segeln (to sail)
  • ins Kino gehen (to go to the movies)
  • Yoga machen
  • Gitarre spielen
  • fotografieren
  • Musik hören
  • reisen (to travel)
  • tanzen
  • kochen (to cook)
  • ins Restaurant gehen
  • texten
  • reiten (to go horseback riding)
  • Karten spielen
  • Golf spielen
  • Tennis spielen
  • Fußball spielen
  • Rugby spielen
  • Basketball spielen
  • Baseball spielen
  • Computerspiele spielen
  • Sonstiges (other): ________________________________

Name: _________________________________

Was er/sie gern macht: ___________________________________________________________________

Was er/sie nicht gern macht: _____________________________________________________________

Name: _________________________________

Was er/sie gern macht: ___________________________________________________________________

Was er/sie nicht gern macht: _____________________________________________________________

Name: _________________________________

Was er/sie gern macht: ___________________________________________________________________

Was er/sie nicht gern macht: _____________________________________________________________

oft, viel, gut, schlecht

Other modes of speaking about leisure activities include doing things "often" oft, "much" or "a lot" viel, doing something "well" gut, and doing something "poorly" schlecht.

The same principle of negation applies here as with gern: Spielst du oft Tennis? → Nein. Ich spiele nicht oft Tennis.

Übung 1-9b. "Spielst du Fußball?" Ja, ich spiele oft Fußball. (Nein, ich spiele Fußball nicht so oft.) Review the activities listed on "Seite 7" and those listed in the exercise Übung 1-8b. Wochenplan: Uni und Freizeit on "Seite 8". Take turns asking your partner whether she / he does these things. Respond with a complete sentence, stating "oft, nicht oft, nicht so oft, viel, nicht viel, gut, nicht so gut, schlecht".

Meine Partnerin / Mein Partner heißt...Aktivitätoft, viel, gut, schlecht...
 

 

  
 

 

  
 

 

  

Culture Notes: Leisure in Germany

Polls in Germany show a lot of contradictions when trying to identify how Germans spend their free time. One recent survey listed the number-one activity as "shopping", while another place "gardening" at the top. Of course, it depends how the survey is engineered. If "chess" is not listed as one of the activities, for example, then it cannot show up in the results. Or if the selection "pursuing ideas" is included, then one may argue that more people would claim this activity than is true, because it would be an admirable way to spend time.

The list below is representative: television, radio, and computer dominate. Germans are avid readers of newspapers and magazines. Germans tend to seek peace and quiet in the pastime pursuits, rather than adventure or sports, although German young people are very active in athletics. Personal development (educational activities, new skills, artistic pursuits, etc.) often ranks high. And Germans do love to travel, as well. By far the favorite vacation sites are beaches, especially in Spain and Italy. Although going out to eat is often listed as an important leisure activity, bars and drinking are rarely mentioned. That is because Germans regard alcoholic drinks more often as a food rather than as a drug.

The graph below also lists "coffee and cake" as a popular activity. This represents a special German popular tradition of the afternoon coffee break with "Kuchen", which is a little like a coffee cake or large fruit pastry.

  1. watching television
  2. listening to the radio
  3. telephoning (from home)
  4. Internet
  5. pursuing ideas
  6. reading newspapers and magazines
  7. talk about important things
  8. spend time with a partner
  9. sleep in
  10. care for self in peace
  11. computer
  12. drink coffee/eat cake
  13. listen to music

Übung 1-9c: Was ist in meinem Zimmer: Kartenspiel
Instructions:

  1. Shuffle cards and place them in a stack with the picture side up.
  2. Place the top card next to the stack and compare with the top card on the stack.
  3. On each card there is one object identical with the other card.
  4. The first player to name the object correctly (Das ist eine Lampe! Das ist ein Buch!) takes the single card next to the stack.
  5. The player that ends up with the most cards wins.

Übung 1-9d Basic Word Order in German The verb must always be second. The subject may come right before the verb or right after the verb. Answer the questions in German. Begin each sentence with the answer to the question.

Beispiel:
Klaus besucht (is visiting) seine Eltern (his parents) am Montag in Berlin.

  1. Wo besucht Klaus seine Eltern am Montag? → In Berlin besucht Klaus seine Eltern am Montag.

  2. Wann besucht Klaus seine Eltern in Berlin? → Am Montag besucht Klaus seine Eltern in Berlin.

  1. Meine Eltern wandern im Herbst gern in Österreich.
    1. Wo wandern deine Eltern gern im Herbst?
    2. Wann wandern deine Eltern gern in Österreich?
  2. Uschi geht heute abend auf eine Party.
    1. Wohin geht Uschi heute abend?
    2. Wann geht Uschi auf eine Party?
  3. Ihr beginnt euer Semester in Jena im Oktober.
    1. Wann beginnen wir unser Semester in Jena?
    2. Wo beginnen wir unser Semester im Oktober?

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