I can say what I like, love, and can't stand, give a reason with parce que and a purpose with pour — and not lose the article.
I like it, I love it, I can't stand it
I like it, I love it, I can't stand it
Your tastes are among the first things people ask about when you meet.
After aimer, adorer, and détester, a noun takes the definite article, even when you mean the thing in general: J'aime le cinéma, Nous adorons la musique. English has no article here (“I like music”), and that's the main mistake in this topic.
Before an infinitive there's NO article: J'aime danser. Chloé adore travailler. English often uses -ing here (“I like dancing”); French uses the infinitive.
How much you like it: adorer — the most, aimer beaucoup — a lot, aimer bien — a little, ne … pas — not, ne … pas du tout — not at all, détester — can't stand it. The whole scale is in the table.
Reason and purpose use set linking words: “Pourquoi ? — Parce que j'aime la musique.” and “Je vais à Paris pour travailler.” Parce que (“because”) is followed by a sentence with a conjugated verb; pour (“in order to”) by an infinitive.
connaître means to know a city or a person: je connais, tu connais, il connaît, elle connaît, vous connaissez. The other forms come later.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “J'aime musique” — “J'aime la musique”.
• NOT “Théo adore le danser” — “Théo adore danser”.
• NOT “Je aime le chocolat” — “J'aime le chocolat”.
• NOT “Pour je travaille à Paris” — “Pour travailler à Paris”.
How much you like it: a scale
At the top — the strongest “yes”; at the bottom — the strongest “no”.
| Phrase | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| adorer | I love it | J'adore le sport |
| aimer beaucoup | I like it a lot | J'aime beaucoup Paris |
| aimer bien | I like it a little | J'aime bien Lyon |
| ne … pas | I don't like it | Je n'aime pas Nice |
| ne … pas du tout | I don't like it at all | Chloé n'aime pas du tout le poisson |
| détester | I can't stand it | Je déteste la télévision |
What comes after aimer, adorer, détester
Before a noun the article is required; before an infinitive there is none.
| + noun with le, la, les | + infinitive, no article |
|---|---|
| J'aime le sport | J'aime danser |
| J'adore le cinéma | J'adore voyager |
| Je déteste la moto | Je déteste fumer |
Lesson notes
I like it, I love it, I can't stand it
Your tastes are among the first things people ask about when you meet.
After aimer, adorer, and détester, a noun takes the definite article, even when you mean the thing in general: J'aime le cinéma, Nous adorons la musique. English has no article here (“I like music”), and that's the main mistake in this topic.
Before an infinitive there's NO article: J'aime danser. Chloé adore travailler. English often uses -ing here (“I like dancing”); French uses the infinitive.
How much you like it: adorer — the most, aimer beaucoup — a lot, aimer bien — a little, ne … pas — not, ne … pas du tout — not at all, détester — can't stand it. The whole scale is in the table.
Reason and purpose use set linking words: “Pourquoi ? — Parce que j'aime la musique.” and “Je vais à Paris pour travailler.” Parce que (“because”) is followed by a sentence with a conjugated verb; pour (“in order to”) by an infinitive.
connaître means to know a city or a person: je connais, tu connais, il connaît, elle connaît, vous connaissez. The other forms come later.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “J'aime musique” — “J'aime la musique”.
• NOT “Théo adore le danser” — “Théo adore danser”.
• NOT “Je aime le chocolat” — “J'aime le chocolat”.
• NOT “Pour je travaille à Paris” — “Pour travailler à Paris”.