73. To 'like' ..... gern(e); love ...... sehr gern

73.  To 'like'  .....  gern(e);  love ...... sehr gern 

Recently we saw the very useful phrase ich möchte meaning I would like. This can be used quite simply with a noun, e.g.  ich möchte bitte ein Bier =  I would like a beer please. It can also be used in combination with another verb, e.g. ich möchte schwimmen = I would like to swim.

Today, however, I would like to look at another very useful word & this is ... gern(e). 

Essentially it is an adverb, i.e. it adds meaning to the verb and if you think of its literal meaning as 'gladly' this will make its use easier to understand. Let's have a look at a couple of examples ...

Ich spiele gern Tennis =  I like playing Tennis. (lit. I play gladly tennis)

Spielst du gern Fußball?  =  Do you like playing football?  (lit. Do you play football gladly?)

Hören Sie gern Musik, Herr Müller?  =  Do you like listening to (hearing) music, Mr Müller?

Sophie schwimmt sehr gern  =  Sophie likes swimming very much  (lit. swims very gladly).

Tom und Anna machen sehr gern Fotos.  =  Tom and Anna like taking photos very much 

There are a couple of things to note here in this last sentence ... In German you make photos not take them (logical eh?!!) but more so, in English sehr gern (very gladly) approximates our overuse of the word 'love'. In English I love swimming is more likely to be translated by ich schwimme sehr gern.

Here are a few more sentences for you with (sehr) gern. See if you can guess their meanings.

1      Ich backe gern Apfelkuchen.

2      Spielst du gern Gitarre?

3      Klaus, Inge, schwimmt ihr gern?

4      Timo liest gern Comicbücher.

5      Trinkt Anja gern Weißwein?

6      Arno und ich,  wir spielen sehr gern Karten.

7      Liesl und Alois pflanzen sehr gern Blumen

Meanings next time…

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