Podcast 4 - A2/B1 Likes and Dislikes

 

Hello, today I'm doing another session on B1 English for Cambridge exam or similar and useful vocabulary. And the vocabulary category today is likes and dislikes. Here we go.

My advice to you is to write down the words I'm talking about, and the related words as well while I am talking.

So, when you are writing something for the B1 exam, or you are talking in the speaking part of the exam, it's essential to know how to express things you like and dislike. And even in the Use of English part of the exam, there will be grammar questions where you will need to know the right words and the prepositions which go with them. So, let's have a look. Let's talk about things that we like first of all.

First of all, I suppose most of the verbs which express like have verbs after them or the infinitive after them, which ends in ING. So, for example, we say I enjoy playing football, I enjoy playing football. And that would be the same for I like playing football. I quite like playing football, and even the opposite really, I dislike playing football, or I don't enjoy playing football. So all of those have ING - that's one thing to remember.

Okay, so I enjoy doing something and also we can say, I'm interested in. I'm interested in English. Well, that's a bit of a boring one, isn't it really? I keep on using the same examples. I'm interested in photography, I like taking photos. So it's interested in, interested in, and then after a preposition we use the infinitive with ING. So, interested in taking photos, I'm interested in painting, I'm interested in riding my horse or going riding. Okay, so and remember it's INterested.

Now, maybe I should just make a little bit of a deviation here and just remind you of the difference between interested and interesting. Let's get the pronunciation right as well is interested, interested and interesting. Okay. So with the stress of the first syllable, and there are only three syllables: IN-tres-ted and not in-ter-es-ted. So, it's interested and interesting.

Right, but what I was going to say, as a little deviation, was that when we say how we feel about something we say interested with ED at the end - ED. And when we talk about the thing that interests us, well then we say that is interesting with ING at the end, and we should remember that all those words with ED, words are either ED when we say how we feel and ING when we talk about the thing or person that has that quality. Whoa, what am I talking about? So, let's see. Let's use just a few examples with interested and we've got bored. Okay, that's a negative one, isn't it? So I'm interested in learning English, because English is interesting. Okay, so the thing has ING, that's how you can remember it, perhaps, the thing has ING - English is interesting. I'm bored in French classes. Because French is boring. Okay. French is boring. Actually, I don't think it is - I love French. Actually. There's another one. I love it. Right another word expressing preferences and likes. I love French. Um, right, okay.

So that's enough, I think of the ED. Let's go back and talk about more words to express likes. And love is another one then - I love it. I love it. I love pizza. I love walking in the hills, etc, etc. And we could also use I'm keen on as well. I'm keen on. I'm keen on. And remember that keen on isn't a phrasal verb. It is a verb plus a preposition. So we say, for example, I'm keen on pizza. Pizza. I like eating pizza. Or I'm keen on swimming. I'm keen on swimming, again it will be ING because it's after that preposition on. So if it's just a preposition, that means it's possible to say in English. Oh, yes. I'm very keen. I'm very keen. Okay, you don't have to say I'm keen on. You only say the on when an object comes after that. I'm keen on swimming, for example.

Right. Okay. That's probably enough. Oh, no, there are a couple more. Couple more. What about I'm crazy about. Oh, yeah. I'm crazy about dancing. I love it. So it means something you really like a lot. I really enjoy it. I'm crazy about it. Again, with the verb it will be I'm crazy about dancing. I'm crazy about listening to music.

Okay, now let's think of some indifferent words. Where some things well, we like them a little bit, but not particularly very much. So we can say I don't mind. Well, I don't mind walking to school every day. You know, it gives me a little bit of exercise. I don't mind walking. Notice it's ING then after I don't mind, always ING if we use a verb, or we could use the noun as well. I don't mind school. I don't mind school. It's alright. You know, got my friends there. Do a bit of studying. Yeah, I enjoy myself. I don't mind - it is not wonderful. But it's okay. I don't mind.

And right now some negative ones, then. Okay. Some negative ones, for example, I don't like of course, just with the negation with don't, or he doesn't. He doesn't enjoy going to the cinema. In fact, he's fed up, he gets fed up, you can say he gets fed up with going to the cinema, because his parents take him every week. So he gets fed up with that. And we could say as well. Well, I'm a bit tired of it. Actually. I'm a bit tired of doing so much homework. Oh my goodness, all that homework. I'm tired of doing. Notice the ING again, because it's tired [of] - preposition of and then the verb with ING. So I'm tired of doing homework.

And, well, one really negative one is I can't stand. And we're going to use the ING form as well. And we're going to say, I can't stand listening to... no, I don't want to say listening to podcasts, do I? No. I can't stand Monday mornings. There we go. I can't stand Monday mornings, or I can't stand getting up early on Monday morning, and going to school, or going to work. I can't stand it. I can't stand it. And that is something which is very negative. And we really hate it. Really, you know, I suppose but I don't like the word hate very much. I think I can't stand sounds better. You could also say, I can't bear it. I can't bear it. And bear is spelt here. B E A R. So I can't bear getting up early on Monday mornings. It's so difficult, because I go to bed a bit late on Sunday evenings, so I can't bear it. I can't bear the thought of getting up early. I can't bear the thought of getting up early on Mondays.

A couple more I'll throw in here as well. Well, you know, if we, if we like something, especially some sort of skill or some sort of sport, or activity, it may be because we are good at it good at so I'm really good at languages. That's why I like them. I'm good at languages. I'm really good at languages. And the opposite is obviously, bad. So I'm bad at dancing. So that's why I don't like it. Because I've got two left feet, we say two left feet. Can you imagine dancing with two left feet? Well, we say that in English, so I'm not very good at dancing.

Right? Okay. There's lots of things there for you to write down and just have a look at and I hope that will help you a lot to express things that you like and dislike. Bye for now.

 

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