Expressing likes and dislikes is a part of life. From a young age, most children start recognizing the things they enjoy and the ones they don’t, and as their speech develops kids become eager to share this information with family and friends. The verb “like” is the one used for this purpose, and it’s also one of the most common verbs in English.
Is “like” a verb?
Well, yes and no! The answer is not that simple. “Like” is, in fact, a verb. As a verb, it has a meaning, a conjugation, and can be used in different tenses in English. However, “like” can also be used as a preposition, conjunction, and a suffix.
What’s the meaning of the verb “like”?
In English, the meaning of the verb “like” is similar to the verb “love” but the feeling is not as strong, it implies that the person enjoys something or that he or she has a positive feeling about it.
For example, “I like my new shoes.”, this implies that the subject enjoys the new shoes and feels positive about them. On the contrary, when it’s a negative sentence with the verb like, for example: “I don’t like summer”, it means that person doesn’t feel positive about summer but it’s not a strong feeling of dislike.
Conjugation of the verb “like” in English
The verb “like” is a regular verb, this means that it doesn’t change as much when used in different tenses. Also, it’s important to remember that the verb “like” always requires an object.
In order to make a sentence with “like” the correct structure is to put the subject first, then the verb like, and then the thing that he or she likes (subject + like + what the subject likes). For example: “I like water”, “I have a pen. I like it”.
Present tense: like/likes
I like – I don’t like
you like – you don’t like
he/she/it likes – he/she/it doesn’t like
you like – you don’t like
we like – we don’t like
they like – they don’t like
The present tense of the verb “like” in affirmative is very easy to make. Since it’s a regular verb, it doesn’t change much for the different pronouns in English, just for the third person where there’s an “s” added to the word “like”. The negative sentences with the verb “like” in Present Simple are formed adding don’t or doesn’t -depending on the subject- before the word “like”.
Examples with the verb “like” in Present Simple:
Elliot likes strawberry ice cream.
Cowy and I like our art class a lot.
Baby Bot is studying English, he likes to learn languages.
Elliot, Billy and I are traveling to Canada soon. We like cold weather!
Oh! Billy doesn’t like his new bed!.
We don’t like to eat alone, so we always eat together.
Past tense of the verb “like”: liked
I liked – I didn’t like
you liked – you didn’t like
he/she/it liked – he/she/it didn’t like
you liked – you didn’t like
we liked – we didn’t like
they liked – they didn’t like
Given that the verb “like” is regular, its past is formed by adding the letter “-d” at the end of the word “like”. This applies to all pronouns. The negative of the verb “like” in Past Simple is formed by adding the word didn’t (verb “to do” in the past tense) before the word “like”.
Examples with the verb “like” in Past:
I liked your gift, it was amazing!.
Billy liked to go out on Sundays, but now he doesn’t.
I received your card, I liked it a lot! Thanks!.
When Cowy was little, she liked coconut candy.
Lisa didn’t like her shirt, so she changed it.
Cowy didn’t like the beach, so she prefers to go to the mountains.
Future tense of the verb “like”: will like
I will like – I won’t like
you will like – you won’t like
he/she/it will like – he/she/it won’t like
you will like – you won’t like
we will like – we won’t like
they will like – they won’t like
As usual in English, the future tense of the verb “like” is formed by adding the word “will” just before the verb “like” for affirmative sentences, and the word “won’t” for negative sentences.
Examples with the verb “like” in Future:
We are going on a road trip next Sunday! The Lingokids will like it!.
Are you sure the movie is funny? Otherwise, I don’t know if I will like it.
I will like to go to your house tomorrow, Billy!.
There’s a new game coming out. I’m sure Cowy will like to play it.
It’s going to be really cold today, I probably won’t like walking home.
Don’t but Lisa a big watch, she won’t like it.
Questions with the verb “like”
Do I like…? – Did I like…?
Do you like…? – Did you like…?
Does he/she/it like…? – Did he/she/it like…?
Do we like…? – Did we like…?
Do you like…? – Did you like…?
Do they like…? – Did they like…?
Just as it happens with the majority of verbs in English, the questions with the verb “like” are constructed using the verb “to do” in English, with the words “do ” or “does ” for questions in present tenses or the word “did ” for questions in past.
Examples of questions with the verb “like”:
Does Cowy like her new guitar? Yes, she likes it a lot.
I got you a present, did you like it? Yes, thanks!.
Billy and Baby Bot are coming later, do they like peach tea?.
Rafael is getting new shoes, does he like the blue ones or the green ones?
Other uses of “like” in English
“Like” is not only a verb, it can also be used as a preposition, as a suffix, and in some cases, it can even be used as a conjunction.
When “like” is used as a preposition, it means ‘similar to”, and in this case, it usually goes with verbs related to the senses, such as look, sound, or feel. For example, “The cookie tastes like mint.” When “like” is used as a suffix, it has the same meaning as a preposition, but it goes at the end of a noun. For example: “She is doing some sports-like activities.”
The use of like as a conjunction is common, although is not considered grammatically correct in some cases, and it’s considered informal speeches. In this case, it’s used as a substitute for the word “as”. For example: “Nobody knows this school like I do.” which will be “Nobody knows this school as I do.”
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With the Lingokids app, your kids will learn the use of the verb “like” easily while playing through fun activities like games and songs! Join today!
