Hook

How do you say you enjoy — or don’t enjoy — doing something? English uses a special verb form here.

Notice

Look at these sentences:

  • I like reading books.
  • She loves dancing.
  • We hate cleaning the house.
  • Do you like cooking? — Yes, I love it!

Rule

After like, love, hate, enjoy, we usually add -ing to the next verb (called a gerund).

  • like + reading (NOT like to reads / like read)
  • Spelling: play → playing, swim → swimming (double the last letter), dance → dancing (drop the e)

Don’t forget third-person -s on like/love/hate itself: She likes swimming. He loves painting.

Practice

  1. Complete: I like ___ (read) books. (Answer: reading)
  2. Complete: She loves ___ (swim). (Answer: swimming)
  3. Complete: He ___ (hate) cooking. (Answer: hates)
  4. Correct the error: I like to swimming. (Answer: I like swimming.)
  5. Correct the spelling: run + ing (Answer: running)
  6. Write a true sentence about something you love doing. (Answer: e.g. I love playing football.)
  7. Write a true sentence about something you hate doing. (Answer: e.g. I hate cleaning.)

Connect

Practice -ing spelling changes with our Word Ladder game.

Try the Word Ladder Game →

CEFR A1: Spoken Production — can describe likes and dislikes about everyday activities using simple phrases.

Azizul Hakim
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