{"id":14496,"date":"2020-10-06T23:06:00","date_gmt":"2020-10-06T23:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lingobest.com\/free-online-english-course\/?p=14496"},"modified":"2022-12-16T10:23:42","modified_gmt":"2022-12-16T10:23:42","slug":"expressing-preferences-in-english","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lingobest.com\/free-online-english-course\/expressing-preferences-in-english\/","title":{"rendered":"40+ phrases to express preferences in English (beyond ‘I like’)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Everybody has different opinions about what is good. These opinions are called preferences<\/strong> – basically what you like and even how you like it. Coffee, for instance. Do you take it black? Or do you add milk and sugar to it? Maybe you don\u2019t even like coffee. The thing is: <\/span>we change our opinions as we grow older and discover new things. <\/span><\/b>Some external factors, such as food allergies or moving to a new city or country, also affect our feelings toward things or actions. <\/span>The thing is, the way you communicate your opinions doesn’t have to be boring! There are dozens of phrases to talk about your likes and dislikes, which are also called preference synonyms<\/strong>. Read on for more information on expressing preferences in English<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Describing our preferences<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of the easiest ways to express our likes is with a verb<\/strong>. Don’t feel trapped by using the word like<\/em> though! There are so many synonyms and phrases that will allow you to be creative with your expressions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other ways to describe your likes and dislikes is with phrases specific to the situation. For example, when it comes to food, we can say some people are <\/span>picky eaters<\/span><\/b>. You probably know somebody like that. A picky eater is someone who refuses food often or ends up eating the same food over and over again. Lots of kids are picky eaters, but adults can also be like that. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Example:<\/span><\/b> Mike hates cucumbers and tomatoes. He is such a picky eater! <\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Some people have a <\/span>sweet tooth<\/span><\/b>, which means they often crave sweet foods, such as cakes, cookies, and chocolate.  <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Example:<\/span><\/b> I spend a good amount of money on candies to try to satisfy my sweet tooth. <\/span> <\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Another phrase you may hear is with the word junkie<\/strong>. Please note this word has a very serious connotation about a person who is addicted to drugs. However, it is also used to describe someone who likes something to the extreme, like a sports junkie<\/strong>. While this term can be innocent, I would not recommend using it! It is not suitable to use around children, either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can you think of any other phrases to describe specific activities or situations?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gerunds and Infinitives<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When we give opinions, we may mention nouns<\/strong> (a person, place, or thing, eg: chocolate, movies, computers, etc) or actions<\/strong>. Depending of the words we use such as a preference verb<\/strong> (I like, I enjoy, I love, I’m not a big fan of, etc), we use the infinitive<\/span> <\/mark><\/strong>form of the verb (to + verb) or the gerund<\/span> <\/mark><\/strong>(verb + -ing). Take a look at the video below to better understand the differences and similarities between these two forms.<\/p>\n\n\n