💚 Lesson 6.2: Likes & Dislikes — like/love/hate + -ing
What do you love? What do you hate? Today you learn to talk about the things you like and don't like. You use simple verbs like love, like, enjoy, and hate with a verb ending in -ing. This lets you share your real feelings and get to know other people.
📚 What You'll Learn
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
- Express preferences with love / like / enjoy / don't mind / don't like / hate + verb-ing
- Make the -ing form of a verb, with the correct spelling
- Use object pronouns (me, you, him, her, it, us, them) in short replies
- Ask "Do you like…?" and give short answers about hobbies and free time
⏱️ Estimated Time: ~50 minutes
🎯 Project: Talk about your hobbies out loud in 6 or more sentences, using at least four preference verbs with the -ing form.
In This Lesson
🔤 New Words in This Lesson
Here are some useful words from this lesson. Tap 🔊 to hear a word.
- cooking — making food
- reading — looking at books or stories
- dancing — moving your body to music
- painting — making pictures with colors
- gardening — working with plants outside
- hiking — walking a long way in nature
- gaming — playing video games
- swimming — moving through water
- hobby — a fun thing you do in your free time
- enjoy — to get pleasure from something
Talking About What You Like
Every person is different. You love some things and hate other things. When you can share your likes and dislikes in English, people get to know the real you. And you can ask about them, too. This makes small talk easy and friendly.
The pattern is simple. You take a feeling verb — love, like, enjoy, hate — and then you add an action with -ing: "I love cooking. I hate cleaning." That is the whole idea. Now let's fill in the details. 💚
🧠 Mindset
You already have strong feelings about hobbies and food and music. Today you are just learning the English shape to say them. Do not wait until your grammar is perfect. If you say "I like cook," people still understand you, and that is a win! Then you add the small -ing and it becomes even better. Speak from the heart, then polish. 🌱
The Preference Scale
Like the frequency words in the last lesson, feeling verbs sit on a scale — from love (the most, ♥♥) down to hate (the least, ✗). Read from top to bottom.
| Verb | Feeling | Example |
|---|---|---|
| love ♥♥ | very, very positive | I love dancing. |
| like ♥ | positive | I like reading. |
| enjoy 🙂 | positive (get pleasure) | I enjoy cooking. |
| don't mind 😐 | neutral — it's okay for me | I don't mind cleaning. |
| don't like ☹️ | negative | I don't like gaming. |
| hate ✗ | very negative | I hate waiting. |
💡 What does "don't mind" mean?
Don't mind is in the middle. It means "it is okay for me — not great, not bad." If a friend asks "Do you like washing the dishes?" you can say "I don't mind it." That means you are happy to do it, even if you don't love it. It is a very polite, friendly answer. 😊
✅ Pro Tip
All of these verbs use the same pattern: verb + -ing. So once you learn "I like swimming," you can also say "I love swimming," "I enjoy swimming," "I hate swimming." Just change the feeling verb — the -ing word stays the same. One pattern, many feelings! 💪
The -ing Form & Spelling
After a feeling verb, the action takes an -ing ending. Most of the time, you just add -ing to the verb. But there are two small spelling rules to remember.
love / like / hate + verb-ing
| Rule | Verb | -ing form |
|---|---|---|
| Most verbs: just add -ing | cook | cooking |
| Most verbs: just add -ing | read | reading |
| Ends in -e: drop the e, add -ing | dance | dancing |
| Ends in -e: drop the e, add -ing | make | making |
| Short verb, one vowel + one consonant: double it | swim | swimming |
| Short verb, one vowel + one consonant: double it | run | running |
⚠️ Important Note: Look at the last letters of the verb. If it ends in -e (dance, make), drop the e before adding -ing: dancing, not danceing. If it is a short word ending in one vowel + one consonant (swim, run), double the last letter: swimming, running.
💡 When in doubt, just add -ing
The two spelling rules feel tricky at first, but most verbs are the easy kind — you simply add -ing (cooking, reading, playing, eating, painting, working). The -e rule and the double letter rule are only for a smaller group. You will learn which verbs need them with a little practice. 👍
Object Pronouns
When you talk about a thing again, you don't repeat its name. You use a short word instead. For example: "I love this song. I listen to it every day." These short words are object pronouns. They come after the verb.
| Subject (before the verb) | Object (after the verb) |
|---|---|
| I | me |
| you | you |
| he | him |
| she | her |
| it | it |
| we | us |
| they | them |
Look how we use them in short, natural replies. The object pronoun takes the place of the thing or person:
- "Do you like this book?" → "Yes, I like it." (it = the book)
- "Do you like video games?" → "No, I don't like them." (them = the games)
- "This is my teacher." → "I like her." (her = the teacher)
- "That is my brother." → "Do you know him?" (him = the brother)
✅ One thing → "it", many things → "them"
The two you will use most are it and them. Use it for one thing (the movie → it). Use them for two or more things (the movies → them). So: "I love this song. I love it." and "I love these songs. I love them." 🎵
Asking "Do You Like…?"
To ask about someone's likes, use the question you already know: Do you like…? Then add a noun (a thing) or a verb with -ing.
Do + you + like + -ing / noun …?
| Question | Yes answer | No answer |
|---|---|---|
| Do you like cooking? | Yes, I do. I love it. | No, I don't. I hate it. |
| Do you like dogs? | Yes, I do. I like them. | No, I don't. |
| Do they like swimming? | Yes, they do. | No, they don't. |
See how the short answer works? Someone asks "Do you like cooking?" You say "Yes, I do" or "No, I don't." Then you can add more with an object pronoun: "I love it!"
💡 "Do you like" for people too
You can use this to ask about people and places, not just hobbies: "Do you like your job?" "Do you like this city?" The answer works the same way: "Yes, I do. I love it." The little pattern is very useful — you will hear it every day. 🙂
Hobbies & Free Time
A hobby is a fun thing you do in your free time. Here are common hobbies. Notice that most of them are already in the -ing form. Read each one out loud.
- cooking — making food
- reading — enjoying books and stories
- dancing — moving to music
- painting — making pictures
- gardening — caring for plants
- hiking — long walks in nature
- gaming — playing video games
- swimming — in a pool or the sea
- listening to music — enjoying songs
- watching movies — at home or at the movie theater
- shopping — buying things for fun
- traveling — visiting new places
Now put feelings and hobbies together. Read these out loud:
- I love painting on Sundays.
- She enjoys gardening in the morning.
- We don't mind cooking together.
- They hate shopping in big crowds.
- I like hiking, but I don't like swimming.
💡 he/she + likes (with -s)
Remember the -s for he, she, and it! Say "She loves dancing," "He enjoys reading," "My brother hates cooking." The feeling verb gets the -s, and the action still ends in -ing. Two small endings, working together. 👍
Dialogue & Phrases
Here are two friends, Nina and Omar. They talk about the hobbies they like and hate. Read both parts out loud. Look for every feeling verb and every -ing word.
Nina: What do you do in your free time, Omar?
Omar: I love cooking. I make dinner every night. Do you like cooking?
Nina: No, I don't. I hate cooking! But I don't mind washing the dishes.
Omar: Ha! So what hobbies do you like?
Nina: I really enjoy painting, and I love hiking. I go every weekend.
Omar: Hiking! I like it too. Do you like swimming?
Nina: Not really. I don't like swimming. The water is too cold for me.
Omar: Fair enough. My sister loves swimming — she does it twice a week.
Nina: Good for her! Everyone likes different things.
Here are the best phrases from the conversation. Keep them ready for your project.
Practice & Project
🏋️ Exercise 1: Write the -ing form
Objective: Make the correct -ing form of each verb, with the right spelling.
Write the -ing form of the verb in parentheses in each gap.
- I love for my family. (cook)
- She enjoys at parties. (dance)
- They like in the sea. (swim)
- We enjoy in the evening. (read)
- He hates in the rain. (run)
- I don't mind the bed. (make)
✅ Answer
1. cooking (just add -ing) · 2. dancing (drop the e) · 3. swimming (double the m) · 4. reading (just add -ing) · 5. running (double the n) · 6. making (drop the e)
🏋️ Exercise 2: Choose the correct object pronoun
Objective: Replace the thing or person with the right object pronoun (it, them, him, her, us, me).
Write the correct object pronoun in each gap.
- I love this song. I listen to every day. (one thing)
- I don't like video games. I never play . (many things)
- This is my sister. Do you know ? (a woman)
- That is my friend Tom. I like a lot. (a man)
- Come with my family and me. Please join ! (my family and I)
✅ Answer
1. it (one song) · 2. them (many games) · 3. her (my sister) · 4. him (Tom) · 5. us (my family and I)
🎯 Your Project: My Hobbies
Now talk about your own hobbies out loud — to a partner, a teacher, or your phone. You will say 6 or more sentences about what you like and don't like.
- (3 min) Think of six free-time activities: cooking, reading, gaming, hiking, and so on.
- (4 min) For each one, choose a feeling verb. Use at least four different ones (love, like, enjoy, don't mind, don't like, hate).
- (3 min) Use the correct -ing form after each verb. Add one sentence with an object pronoun ("I love it," "I don't like them").
- (3 min) Say your whole list out loud.
- (2 min) Solo? Record it and listen once. With a partner? Take turns, then ask each other one "Do you like…?" question.
Model answer: "I love reading in the evening. I really enjoy cooking, and I make dinner every night. I like hiking on the weekend, but I don't like swimming — the water is too cold for me. I don't mind gardening. I hate cleaning the house! My favorite hobby is painting. I do it every Sunday, and I love it."
✅ Project Completion Checklist
- ☐ I said 6 or more sentences about my hobbies
- ☐ I used at least four different feeling verbs
- ☐ I used the correct -ing form each time
- ☐ I used at least one object pronoun (it / them)
- ☐ I said it all out loud (recorded or to a partner)
🎯 Quick Quiz
Question 1: Which sentence is correct?
Question 2: "Do you like these books?" Complete: "Yes, I love ___."
Tips & Common Mistakes
✅ Do's
- Use the -ing form after love, like, enjoy, don't mind, don't like, and hate.
- Remember the spelling: drop the -e (dance → dancing), double the last letter in short words (swim → swimming).
- Use it for one thing and them for many things in your short replies.
- Add the -s for he/she/it: She loves dancing.
💚 Both are fine: "like doing" and "like to do"
You may sometimes hear "I like to cook" instead of "I like cooking." Good news: with like, love, and hate, both forms are correct and mean almost the same thing. In this course we use the -ing form because it is common and easy. But if you say "I like to cook," that is fine too. Don't worry about it. 🙂
❌ Common Mistakes
⚠️ Watch Out
- "I love cook." ❌ — Add the -ing. Say I love cooking. ✅
- "I like danceing." ❌ — Drop the e first. Say I like dancing. ✅
- "I enjoy swiming." ❌ — Double the m. Say I enjoy swimming. ✅
- "I like they." ❌ — Use the object pronoun. Say I like them. ✅
- "She love reading." ❌ — Add the -s for she. Say She loves reading. ✅
📓 Learning Journal
Take five minutes after this lesson to write in your learning journal. After every lesson, write down:
- Key concepts you learned
- Things that clicked for you
- Questions or confusion points to revisit
- Ideas you want to try
- Your progress and feelings about learning English
✍️ This lesson's prompt: Write five sentences about your free time. Use a different feeling verb in each one (love, like, enjoy, don't like, hate) with a verb in the -ing form. Then add one sentence with it or them. Read it all out loud. What is your favorite hobby, and how does it feel to talk about it in English? 🌟
📝 Lesson Summary
🎓 Key Takeaways
- Feeling verbs + -ing: love, like, enjoy, don't mind, don't like, hate + verb-ing (I love cooking).
- Preference scale: love (♥♥) → like → enjoy → don't mind → don't like → hate (✗).
- -ing spelling: most verbs just add -ing; drop the -e (dance → dancing); double the last letter in short verbs (swim → swimming).
- Object pronouns: me, you, him, her, it, us, them — used after the verb (I like it / them).
- Ask "Do you like…?" → "Yes, I do." / "No, I don't."
🎉 What You've Accomplished
You can now share the real you in English! You can say what you love, what you hate, and everything in between. You can ask other people about their hobbies and understand their answers. This is the language of friendship and small talk — the kind of English you use to make friends. From single words to warm, personal conversations, you are growing fast. Be proud. 🎉
❓ Common Questions at This Stage
Do I always need the -ing form after "like"?
You can also use a noun: "I like coffee," "I like dogs." The -ing form is for when you want to talk about an action: "I like swimming." Both are correct — it depends on whether you name a thing or an action.
Is "I don't like" the same as "I hate"?
They are close, but hate is stronger. "I don't like it" means it is not for me. "I hate it" means a strong bad feeling. Use hate only for things you really, really dislike.
Why is it "I like them" and not "I like they"?
Because they is a subject word (before the verb), and after a verb we need the object word: them. So we say "They like me" (subject + object) and "I like them" (subject + object). The word changes depending on its place.
🔭 Looking Ahead
In Lesson 6.3, we learn to talk about times and dates and to make plans. You will learn the little words at, in, and on for time, the months and seasons, and how to invite a friend to do something with you.
✅ Before the Next Lesson
- Say five sentences about your hobbies, using five different feeling verbs.
- Practice the -ing form of ten verbs, saying each one out loud.
- Ask a friend two "Do you like…?" questions.
- Write your Learning Journal entry.
🌟 Encouragement for the Journey
You just learned to talk about your feelings — the things you love and the things you hate. This is some of the most human, friendly English there is. Keep sharing what you like, and keep asking other people about their hobbies. Your conversations will get warmer and easier every day. See you in Lesson 6.3! 👋