Day 13: Likes & dislikes
Today's pattern is the tool that makes conversations long. With only states (être) and possession (avoir) a conversation dies at turn three. Opinions generate reasons, questions and disagreement — which is what keeps people talking.
1. Five levels of liking
| French | Respelling | Strength | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| J'adore ___. | zha-DOR | ★★★ | I love it |
| J'aime beaucoup ___. | zhem boh-KOO | ★★ | I really like it |
| J'aime ___. | zhem | ★ | I like it |
| Je n'aime pas ___. | zhuh nem PA | ✗ | I don't like it |
| Je déteste ___. | zhuh day-TEST | ✗✗ | I hate it |
⚠️ ★J'aime+ a person means "I love them".J'aime Marie= I'm in love with Marie. If she is just a friend you must sayJ'aime bien Marie(zhem BYAN). That one wordbienis the entire difference between a friendship and a declaration — and English gives you no warning, because "I like Marie" is perfectly safe.With objects it does not matter: J'aime le café is fine either way.⚠️ FAUX AMI: j'adore is weaker than English "I adore". It is closer to "I love" and people use it about coffee. Nothing dramatic about it.
2. ★ What comes after — always the definite article
"I like coffee" means coffee in general, so French puts le/la/les in front of it.
| Form | Example | |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | le (luh) | J'aime le café. |
| feminine | la (la) | J'aime la musique. |
| vowel-start | l' (l) | J'aime l'anglais. |
| plural | les (lay) | J'aime les chiens. |
⚠️ This is where it collides with Day 11:— Je mange du pain. — I eat (some) bread → partitive— J'aime le pain. — I like bread (in general) → definite articleEnglish uses nothing at all in both cases, which is why this is the week's biggest trap.The rule is mercifully absolute: after liking or hating, always le/la/les.And unlike Day 11, the negative does not change it to de → Je n'aime pas le café. ✅
3. When a verb follows — just the infinitive
| French | Respelling | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| J'aime voyager. | zhem vwa-ya-ZHAY | I like travelling |
| J'aime lire. | zhem LEER | I like reading |
| J'aime cuisiner. | zhem kwee-zee-NAY | I like cooking |
| Je n'aime pas courir. | zhuh nem pa koo-REER | I don't like running |
| J'adore écouter de la musique. | zha-DOR ay-koo-TAY duh la mew-ZEEK | I love listening to music |
★ ⚠️ There is no -ing in French. English "I like travelling" becomes a plain infinitive: J'aime voyager. Do not go looking for a French gerund — there isn't one you need this month.
4. Hobbies and interests
| French | Respelling | Meaning | French | Respelling | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| la musique | la mew-ZEEK | music | le cinéma | luh see-nay-MA | cinema | |
| le sport | luh SPOR | sport | le football | luh foot-BOL | football / soccer | |
| la lecture | la lek-TEWR | reading | les voyages | lay vwa-YAHZH | travel | |
| la cuisine | la kwee-ZEEN | cooking | la nature | la na-TEWR | nature | |
| les jeux vidéo | lay zhuh vee-day-OH | video games | les animaux | lay za-nee-MOH | animals | |
| le café | luh ka-FAY | coffee | le vin | luh VAN | wine | |
| les langues | lay LAHNG | languages | le travail | luh tra-VYE | work |
⚠️ FAUX AMI: la lecture is reading, not a lecture. A lecture is un cours or une conférence. And la cuisine is both cooking and the kitchen.
5. Giving a reason — parce que
| French | Respelling | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| parce que | par-suh KUH | because |
| Pourquoi ? | poor-KWA | Why? |
| J'aime le français parce que c'est beau. | zhem luh frahn-SEH par-suh kuh seh BOH | I like French because it's beautiful |
| Je n'aime pas courir parce que c'est difficile. | I don't like running because it's hard |
★ "J'aime ___ parce que c'est ___." is today's real output. Drop any Day 5 adjective into the second slot and you have an unlimited sentence generator.
6. Dialogue
A: Tu aimes le café ? tew em luh ka-FAY?B: Oui, j'adore le café ! Et toi ? wee, zha-DOR luh ka-FAY! ay TWA?A: Moi, je n'aime pas le café. Je préfère le thé.mwa, zhuh nem pa luh ka-FAY. zhuh pray-FAIR luh TAY. I don't like coffee. I prefer tea.B: Pourquoi ? poor-KWA?A: Parce que le café est trop fort. par-suh kuh luh ka-FAY eh troh FOR. Because coffee is too strong.B: Je comprends. Tu aimes voyager ? zhuh kohn-PRAHN. tew em vwa-ya-ZHAY?A: Oui, j'aime beaucoup voyager ! wee, zhem boh-KOO vwa-ya-ZHAY!
★ Je préfère ___ (zhuh pray-FAIR) = I prefer. Essential for any conversation about taste. ★ Je comprends (zhuh kohn-PRAHN) = I understand — the positive of Day 4's Je ne comprends pas.
7. Exercises
A. Choose le / la / l' / les.
- J'aime ___ musique. 2. J'aime ___ café. 3. J'aime ___ animaux. 4. J'aime ___ anglais.
B. Make it negative.
- J'aime le sport. → 2. J'aime cuisiner. → 3. J'adore les jeux vidéo. →
C. Say it in French.
- I love travelling. 2. I don't like football. 3. I like French because it's easy.
D. ⚠️ Fix the mistake.
- J'aime du café. 2. J'aime voyageant. 3. (about a friend) J'aime Marie.
E. Write 5 sentences about yourself using "J'aime ___ parce que c'est ___."
Answers
A. 1. la 2. le 3. les 4. l' B. 1. Je n'aime pas le sport. 2. Je n'aime pas cuisiner. 3. Je n'aime pas les jeux vidéo. C. 1. J'adore voyager. 2. Je n'aime pas le football. 3. J'aime le français parce que c'est facile. D. 1. liking takes the definite article → le café 2. no -ing in French → voyager 3. that says you're in love → J'aime bien Marie
8. Today's 10 sentences
- J'aime le café. — I like coffee (zhem luh ka-FAY)
- J'adore voyager. — I love travelling (zha-DOR vwa-ya-ZHAY)
- Je n'aime pas le sport. — I don't like sport (zhuh nem pa luh SPOR)
- Je déteste attendre. — I hate waiting (zhuh day-TEST a-TAHN-druh)
- Je préfère le thé. — I prefer tea (zhuh pray-FAIR luh TAY)
- Tu aimes la musique ? — Do you like music? (tew em la mew-ZEEK)
- Pourquoi ? — Why? (poor-KWA)
- Parce que c'est difficile. — Because it's hard (par-suh kuh seh dee-fee-SEEL)
- J'aime bien Marie. — I like Marie (as a friend) (zhem byan ma-REE)
- Je comprends. — I understand (zhuh kohn-PRAHN)
9. 📲 Upload to LangNote
The strength scale (1) + the definite articles (2) + parce que (5). Since definite-vs-partitive is this week's biggest trap, upload this together with the Day 11 file so the grammar mission drills them against each other.
| Mission | What to do with it today |
|---|---|
| 🎭 Role-play | "Talking about what you like" — today's main mission. Push through to the reason with parce que |
| 🔤 Grammar | le/la/les vs du/de la |
| 📖 Vocab | 14 hobbies |
| ❓ Quiz | J'aime vs J'aime bien |
langNote is a paid subscription and this course recommends it. The 30 lessons are free and complete either way.