Like as a verb and preposition

Finn Hello. Welcome to 6 Minute Grammar with me, Finn.

Sophie And me, Sophie. Hello. Today, we’re talking about the word like .

Finn Yes, the word like . We’ll be looking at two different ways to use it.

Sophie We’ll also give you a useful tip about time expressions.

Finn And there’ll be a quiz to practice what we’ve studied…

Sophie And we’ll even get to find out a bit of personal information about Finn!

Finn Oh no, not too personal I hope!

Sophie Let’s wait and see shall we? Now - the word like .

Finn Like . It’s an interesting word in English, because when it comes to grammar, we can use it as a verb and we can also use like as a preposition.

Sophie So let’s start with like as a verb. And here’s Neil with our first example:

Neil James likes playing football.

Finn Thank you Neil. So we have the subject ‘James’, the verb likes , and the object playing football . Let’s hear it again - this time, Neil, as a question.

Neil Does James like playing football?

Sophie This question is made with does plus the subject, plus the base form of the verb like .

Finn And the verb like is asking about preference - things you enjoy.

Sophie Yes exactly. For example, I can find out about Finn’s sporting preferences by asking: Do you like playing football? Do you like playing football, Finn?

Finn I love playing football! But sadly, I’m not very good. Now, the second way we can use like is when we ask for a description, like this:

Neil What’s your house like?

Sophie So here, like is a preposition, not a verb, and it goes at the end of the question.

Finn This time, we don’t use do or does . The question is made of what plus the verb to be , plus the subject plus like . What’s your house like, Sophie?

Sophie My house Finn? It’s very beautiful actually! Let’s have another example:

Neil What was your weekend like?

Finn So - thank you Neil - it’s what plus to be , plus a subject, plus like , to ask for a description. And as for the answer - remember to use adjectives in your descriptions. What was your weekend like, Sophie?

Sophie It was lovely, thank you Finn. Very relaxing! I had coffee with friends, and then we went for a long walk! What was your weekend like?

Finn It was very very busy. I spent the whole weekend tidying my flat.

Sophie You poor thing! Now, you can also use like to ask someone to describe a person. Finn, what’s your dad like?

Finn My Dad, my Dad’s great. He’s very clever.

Sophie Clever, eh?

Finn Yep. And he’s tall… and he’s a little bit bald. And he likes writing, too!

IDENT You’re listening to bbclearningenglish.com.

Sophie And in this programme we’re finding out a bit about Finn…

Finn And we’re talking about using like in two different ways.

Sophie We can use like as a verb to show preference, for example: ‘My mother likes Italian food’ or ‘Does your father like reading?’

Finn And we can use like as a preposition with the verb to be to ask for descriptions, starting with what and ending with like .

Sophie Finn, what’s your girlfriend like?

Finn A good example but I think that’s enough personal questions for one programme! It’s time for a quiz. I’m going to ask three questions. For each question, first: can you decide whether I’m asking for preference or for a description. Then - answer the question! Here’s the first one: Do you like Chinese food?

Sophie Right, well the question starts with does , and like isn’t at the end, so you’re asking for preference. Actually, I really like Chinese food.

Finn Me too! Now, the next one. What’s the new shopping centre like?

Sophie This question starts with w hat , ends in like , and there’s no do, does or did , so you’re asking for a description. The new shopping centre is usually very busy!

Finn Is it indeed! Now, here’s the last question. What movies do you like?

Sophie This is an interesting one: the question starts with what , and ends with like , but it has do , so like is a verb, and you’re asking for preference. What movies do I like? I like comedies.

Finn Me too. Well done if you got those right.

Sophie So, that’s like as a verb to talk about preference, and like as a preposition to ask for a description. Remember to use do or does for preference and to be for a description.

Finn Now, there’s lots more about this on our website at bbclearningenglish.com. Do join us again for more 6 Minute Grammar.

All Bye.