like

English translation: See explanation

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

English term or phrase:	like vs. would like
Selected answer:	See explanation
Entered by:	Kim Metzger

01:37 Jul 27, 2002

English language (monolingual) [PRO]

English term or phrase: like

The verb 'like', is it always followed by plural nouns (as 'I like children')? and how about 'I don't like chicken'?

Kardi Kho KudoZ activity Questions: 30 (none open) Answers: 969 Indonesia
Local time: 18:30

See explanation

Explanation:
I think your question has less to do with the verb to like than it does with nouns. Compare:
I like chicken vs. I like chickens.
Both are correct, but the meaning is different. If you say you like chicken you mean you like to eat the meat from chickens. In the second example it means that you like the animals.

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Note added at 2002-07-27 02:17:17 (GMT)
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Countable vs. mass nouns.
Mass = aspirin countable = an aspirin
I like aspirin. I WOULD LIKE an aspirin.

It wouldn\'t be appropriate to say I like an aspirin. But it would be normal to say I like aspirin. In the case of the countable noun the meaning of like is want to have. In the case of the mass noun the meaning of like is love, enjoy, etc.

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Note added at 2002-07-27 02:28:51 (GMT)
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When I taught English as a foreign language in Germany, I found that German students frequently had trouble distinguishing between like and would like and I know that many people from many other countries have the same problem. The key is to remember that I LIKE means I enjoy something in general. I like playing tennis. I WOULD LIKE means I want. If someone says to me: \"I like a cup of coffee\" I think to myself, well so I do. But if the speaker is not a native English speaker, there\'s a good chance that he really meant I want a cup of coffee right now.

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Note added at 2002-07-27 02:30:30 (GMT)
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Well, so do I.

Selected response from:

Kim Metzger
Mexico
Local time: 05:30

Grading comment

Thanks Kim for your nice explanation and for your understanding of me as a nonnative english speaker. Sorry if my question was confusing as I put the word verb. The reason why I used the word 'verb' was just to make sure that you all understand that 'like' here is in the form of verb, not 'like' as a preposition or any other forms (but it seems that I did the other way round). I asked this question because in my native language (Bahasa Indonesia) we don't say 'I like apples' but 'I like apple' (the singular form). anyway thanks for all the answers.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED

5 +7

See explanation

Kim Metzger

4 +4

not at all - e.g. I like golf

swisstell

5 +1

It depends on what is being liked.

Fuad Yahya

the plural or singular issue relates to the subject not the object

Hermeneutica

Discussion entries: 2

Answers

2 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +4

not at all - e.g. I like golf

Explanation:
I don't like the heat - just to mention the obvious ones for me here in Florida

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Note added at 2002-07-27 02:01:58 (GMT)
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I think (like Kim) that you are confusing the issue here. Of course, most countable things (if more than one piece) will call for la plural of the NOUN but that has nothing to do with the verb.
E.g. I like an apple once in a while. I like apples more than strawberries.

swisstell
Italy
Local time: 13:30
Native speaker of: German
PRO pts in pair: 170

14 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +7

See explanation

Kim Metzger
Mexico
Local time: 05:30
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in pair: 2249

Grading comment

2 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

It depends on what is being liked.

Explanation:
If what you like is one thing, then the object will be singular:

- I like Noam Chomsky.

- I like Missa Solemnis.

- I like California.

- I like sour dough bread.

- I like the weather here.

If what you like consists of many items, then the object will be plural:

- I like verbose children.

- I like jigsaw puzzles.

- I like Andy Griffith reruns.

- I like plain shirts and ornate ties.

Some idiomatic expressions can cause a bit of confusion. For instance, when Anwar Sadat was killed, Time Magazine ran a cover story in which the writer described the assassinated president as follows:

"He loved a parade!"

That is an idiomatic expression meaning "He loved being at a parade." Typically you would say, "He loved parades."

Likewise, "I like chicken" is an idiomatic expression. "Chicken" here is not the name of a bird, but rather the name of a type of meat. The expression is not diferent from

- I like lamb (meaning the cooked flesh of a slaughtered lamb).

- I like tuna (I like the cooked flesh of a tuna fish)

- I like duck, quail, etc.

Summing up, you decide what you like. If it is one thing, then use the singular. If more than one, use the plural.

Fuad

Fuad Yahya
Native speaker of:

Arabic,

English
PRO pts in pair: 893

6 hrs confidence:

the plural or singular issue relates to the subject not the object

Explanation:
Hi Kardi,

I do not know any Bahasa, but I am wondering why you are having this issue at all. It´s I like (whatever) because the subject is the first person singular. If it were 3rd person singular it would be he/she/it likeS (whatever). And of course there is no difference in the plural subject forms of verbs in English, thus I like going to the movies or We like going to the theater ... unlike in Spanish or other Romance languages were it would be, to keep it simple, Adoro los helados (I love, adore ice cream) or Adoro el agua, but Adoramos for We love ...

However, e.g. in Spanish the real translation is also different, I like is Me gusta, but then yes, it changes from singular to plural depending both on the object and the subject, e.g.

Me gusta el fútbol, I like soccer;
Nos gusta el fútbol, We like soccer;
Me gustas tú, I like you;
Nos gustas tú ...
Me gustan las flores, I like flowers ...

Maybe this phenomenon is what you had in mind? But it does not apply to English.

Good luck!

Dee

Hermeneutica
Switzerland
Local time: 13:30
Native speaker of:

Spanish,

English
PRO pts in pair: 4

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