LinguaJ’aime le café: the definite article after aimer
To say what you like, French uses four -er verbs of growing strength: aimer (to like, to love), adorer (to love, to adore), détester (to hate) and préférer (to prefer). After them, a noun ALWAYS carries the definite article le / la / les, even when you mean the thing in general: j’aime le café – “I like coffee”, not a particular cup. Elle adore la musique, nous détestons le sport, il préfère les chats. English drops the article here; French never does, and it never uses un / une either: j’aime un café would mean you like one specific coffee.
| Verb | With je | With nous | Strength |
|---|---|---|---|
| adorer | j’adore | nous adorons | I love it – the top |
| aimer | j’aime | nous aimons | I like it, I love it |
| préférer | je préfère | nous préférons | I prefer it – note the è |
| détester | je déteste | nous détestons | I hate it – the bottom |
Léa adore la cuisine italienne, mais elle déteste le sport.Léa loves Italian food, but she hates sport.
J’aime lire: aimer + infinitive
When what you like is an activity, the second verb follows directly in the infinitive – the dictionary form: j’aime lire (I like reading), tu aimes voyager, il adore dormir, nous détestons travailler le dimanche. Only the first verb is conjugated; the second never changes, whoever the subject is. No preposition, no article stands between them. Lire (to read) and dormir (to sleep) are not -er verbs – for now you only need their infinitives, which is exactly what this structure asks for.
Le dimanche, nous aimons dormir et lire.On Sundays we like to sleep and read.
Beaucoup, bien, un peu, pas du tout: the scale of liking
A small adverb placed right after aimer sets the degree: j’aime beaucoup (a lot), j’aime bien (quite, rather), j’aime un peu (a little), je n’aime pas du tout (not at all). The adverb sits between the verb and its object: j’aime beaucoup le cinéma, never j’aime le cinéma beaucoup. Mind bien: it does not make aimer stronger, it makes it softer and friendlier. With a thing, j’aime bien le thé is “I quite like tea”; with a person the difference matters – j’aime bien Paul means Paul is a nice friend, j’aime Paul means you are in love.
| Expression | Degree |
|---|---|
| j’adore | I love it |
| j’aime beaucoup | I like it a lot |
| j’aime bien | I quite like it |
| j’aime un peu | I like it a little |
| je n’aime pas du tout | I don’t like it at all |
| je déteste | I hate it |
J’aime bien la musique, mais je préfère le cinéma.I quite like music, but I prefer the cinema.
Tu aimes… ? Asking about tastes and answering
The everyday question is the statement with a rising voice: Tu aimes le sport ?, Vous aimez danser ?, Elle aime la cuisine japonaise ? To ask what someone likes, put qu’est-ce que in front: Qu’est-ce que tu aimes ? The answers use the scale: Oui, j’adore !, Oui, beaucoup., Oui, j’aime bien., Non, pas du tout., Non, je préfère la musique. Notice the short answers Oui, beaucoup and Non, pas du tout – the verb is understood and left out, which is exactly how French people speak.
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| détester | to hate, to detest | Mon frère déteste le lait. My brother hates milk. |
| préférer | to prefer | Tu préfères le thé ou le café ? Do you prefer tea or coffee? |
| le sport | sport | Mon oncle adore le sport. My uncle loves sport. |
| la musique | music | Vous aimez la musique classique ? Do you like classical music? |
| le cinéma | the cinema, films | Le samedi soir, nous sommes au cinéma. On Saturday evenings we are at the cinema. |
| la cuisine | cooking, cuisine (also: the kitchen) | J’adore la cuisine japonaise. I love Japanese food. |
| lire | to read | Ma grand-mère aime lire le matin. My grandmother likes reading in the morning. |
| voyager | to travel | Mes parents adorent voyager en Italie. My parents love travelling in Italy. |
| dormir | to sleep | Le chat adore dormir sur la chaise. The cat loves sleeping on the chair. |
| beaucoup | a lot, much | Elle aime beaucoup son professeur. She likes her teacher a lot. |
| bien | well; (after aimer) quite, rather | J’aime bien le professeur de musique. I quite like the music teacher. |
| pas du tout | not at all | Il n’aime pas du tout danser. He doesn’t like dancing at all. |
Exercises
This lesson has 10 exercises in the app:
- multiple choice: 3
- match the pairs: 1
- fill the gap: 2
- build the sentence: 1
- translate the sentence: 2
- listen and type: 1
Try the first one
How do you say “I like coffee” – coffee in general?
The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.