Effortless English Learning - Express Likes and Dislikes Naturally.

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Effortless English Learning

Express Likes and Dislikes Naturally. 

Alison: Hello, everyone!

Alison: Welcome to Effortless English Learning.

Will: Today, we’re talking about something simple but super useful.

Alison: Expressions for likes and dislikes!

Will: We all have things we love and things we can’t stand.

Alison: And knowing how to say them naturally is important.

Will: If you use the wrong phrase, people might get confused.

Alison: Or worse, they might misunderstand your feelings.

Will: But don’t worry!

Will: We’ll help you sound more natural.

Alison: And we’ll have fun along the way!

Will: Before we start, make sure to subscribe to our podcast.

Alison: And turn on CC subtitles if you need them.

Will: We provide subtitles in multiple languages.

Alison: So, you can follow along more easily.

Will: Now, let’s jump into today’s topic!

Will: Let’s start with the basics.

Will: How do we say we like something?

Alison: The simplest way is “I like it.”

Will: Right!

Will: Or just “I like” plus the thing.

Alison: For example, “I like pizza.”

Will: Or “I like football.”

Alison: Easy, right?

Will: But what if you like something a lot?

Alison: You can say “I love it.”

Will: Like “I love coffee.”

Alison: Or “I love traveling.”

Will: That’s stronger than just “I like it.”

Alison: Another way is “I really like it.”

Will: Like “I really like this movie.”

Alison: Or “I really like learning English.”

Will: Good one!

Will: Now, what about dislikes?

Alison: The basic way is “I don’t like it.”

Will: For example, “I don’t like cold weather.”

Alison: Or “I don’t like waking up early.”

Will: But what if you really dislike something?

Alison: You can say “I hate it.”

Will: Like “I hate waiting in long lines.”

Alison: Or “I hate traffic.”

Will: That’s quite strong, though.

Will: “Hate” is a powerful word.

Alison: Yes, so don’t use it too often.

Will: If you dislike something but not strongly, say “I’m not a fan of it.”

Alison: Like “I’m not a fan of spicy food.”

Will: Or “I’m not a fan of horror movies.”

Alison: That sounds more polite.

Will: Another polite way is “It’s not my thing.”

Alison: Like “Golf is not my thing.”

Will: Or “Opera is not my thing.”

Alison: Perfect!

Will: So, now you know some basic ways to express likes and dislikes.

Alison: But wait!

Alison: There are many ways to show different levels of liking or disliking.

Will: That’s what we’ll cover next!

Will: We’ve covered the basics.

Will: Now, let’s talk about different levels of liking and disliking.

Alison: Because “like” and “hate” are not enough!

Will: Exactly!

Will: Let’s start with strong liking.

Alison: If you love something a lot, you can say “I’m crazy about it.”

Will: Like “I’m crazy about basketball.”

Alison: Or “I’m crazy about sushi.”

Will: Another way is “I’m a big fan of it.”

Alison: For example, “I’m a big fan of action movies.”

Will: Or “I’m a big fan of classical music.”

Alison: And if you want something even stronger?

Will: You can say “I’m obsessed with it.”

Alison: Like “I’m obsessed with this new TV show.”

Will: Or “I’m obsessed with chocolate.”

Alison: That sounds very passionate!

Will: Now, what if you like something, but just a little?

Alison: You can say “I don’t mind it.”

Will: Like “I don’t mind rainy days.”

Alison: Or “I don’t mind country music.”

Will: Another way is “It’s okay.”

Alison: Like “The movie was okay.”

Will: Or “This soup is okay.”

Alison: It’s not very positive, though.

Will: No, it sounds neutral.

Will: Now, let’s talk about disliking something.

Alison: If you really hate something, you can say “I can’t stand it.”

Will: Like “I can’t stand rude people.”

Alison: Or “I can’t stand loud noises.”

Will: Another strong one is “I detest it.”

Alison: That sounds very formal!

Will: Yes, people don’t say it often.

Will: But you might see it in books.

Alison: Now, what if you dislike something, but not strongly?

Will: You can say “It’s not my cup of tea.”

Alison: That’s very British!

Will: Yes, we love tea!

Will: Like “Golf is not my cup of tea.”

Alison: Or “Romantic movies are not my cup of tea.”

Will: In the U.S., people often say “I’m not a big fan of it.”

Alison: Like “I’m not a big fan of math.”

Will: Or “I’m not a big fan of seafood.”

Alison: These sound softer than saying “I hate it.”

Will: Yes, they sound more polite.

Alison: So, now you know how to express different levels of liking and disliking!

Will: Next, let’s talk about mistakes English learners make.

Will: Now, let’s talk about common mistakes.

Alison: Yes!

Alison: English learners often make small errors when expressing likes and dislikes.

Will: The first mistake is direct translation from their native language.

Alison: Right!

Alison: For example, some learners say, “I very like it.”

Will: That sounds unnatural.

Will: In English, we don’t use “very” before “like.”

Alison: The correct way is “I really like it.”

Will: Another mistake is using “feel” incorrectly.

Alison: Some learners say, “I feel not good about it.”

Will: That sounds strange.

Will: The correct way is “I don’t feel good about it.”

Alison: Or just “I don’t like it.”

Will: Here’s another one—saying “I like very much it.”

Alison: Oh, that’s a common mistake!

Alison: The correct way is “I like it very much.”

Will: Word order is important!

Will: Now, let’s talk about “hate.”

Alison: Some learners say, “I very hate it.”

Will: That’s incorrect.

Will: The right way is “I really hate it.”

Alison: Or “I absolutely hate it.”

Will: Another mistake is using “hate” too often.

Alison: Yes!

Alison: In English, “hate” is very strong.

Will: If you don’t like something, it’s better to say, “I’m not a big fan of it.”

Alison: Or “It’s not my thing.”

Will: That sounds more polite.

Alison: Exactly!

Alison: So, be careful with these mistakes.

Will: Now, let’s have some fun!

Will: We’ve heard some really funny expressions before.

Will: Now, let’s talk about funny or strange expressions!

Alison: Yes!

Alison: Sometimes, English learners create very unique phrases.

Will: Some are creative, but some are just confusing!

Alison: One time, a student told me, “I like it to the moon.”

Will: That sounds like “I love you to the moon and back.”

Alison: Exactly!

Alison: But we don’t say, “I like it to the moon.”

Will: A better way is “I love it so much.”

Alison: Another time, I heard, “This movie makes my heart feel warm inside my bones.”

Will: Wow!

Will: That’s... very poetic.

Alison: Yes, but in English, we just say, “This movie is heartwarming.”

Will: Here’s a funny one.

Will: A student once said, “I hate it like a cat hates water.”

Alison: That actually makes sense!

Alison: But it’s not a common phrase.

Will: A natural way is “I absolutely hate it.”

Alison: Or “I can’t stand it.”

Will: I also heard, “This music makes my ears cry.”

Alison: Oh, that’s funny!

Alison: We would just say, “This music is terrible.”

Will: Exactly!

Will: And I once heard, “I like it, but only on Sundays.”

Alison: That’s so specific!

Alison: Did they mean they sometimes like it?

Will: I think so!

Will: A better way is “I like it sometimes.”

Alison: Or “I like it once in a while.”

Will: So, English learners sometimes create interesting expressions.

Alison: Some are cute, but some are hard to understand.

Will: The best way is to listen to native speakers.

Alison: And learn natural phrases.

Will: Speaking of natural phrases, let’s compare the U.S. and U.K.!

Will: Now, let’s compare American and British English.

Alison: Yes!

Alison: We both speak English, but we use different expressions.

Will: Let’s start with liking something.

Will: In the U.K., people say, “I’m keen on it.”

Alison: That sounds so British!

Alison: In the U.S., we say, “I’m into it.”

Will: Like “I’m keen on football.”

Alison: And “I’m into basketball.”

Will: Same meaning, different words!

Alison: Another one is “I quite like it.”

Will: Yes, in the U.K., “I quite like it” means “I like it a little.”

Alison: But in the U.S., “quite” sounds stronger.

Alison: If I say, “I quite like it,” it sounds like I really like it.

Will: That’s a big difference!

Will: Now, let’s talk about dislikes.

Alison: In the U.S., we say, “I’m not a big fan of it.”

Will: In the U.K., we often say, “It’s not my cup of tea.”

Alison: That’s so British!

Will: Of course!

Will: We love tea, so it makes sense.

Alison: But Americans don’t say that.

Alison: We just say, “It’s not my thing.”

Will: Another British one is “I can’t be bothered.”

Alison: Oh, I love that phrase!

Alison: In the U.S., we just say, “I don’t feel like it.”

Will: Like “I can’t be bothered to cook.”

Alison: And “I don’t feel like cooking.”

Will: Same meaning, different style!

Alison: Another big difference is how direct we are.

Will: Yes!

Will: In the U.K., people avoid strong words like “hate.”

Alison: But in the U.S., we say “hate” more often.

Alison: Like “I hate Mondays.”

Will: A British person might say, “I don’t really like Mondays.”

Alison: So, British English sounds softer.

Will: Yes, we try to sound polite!

Alison: But in the U.S., we just say things directly.

Will: That’s why it’s important to understand both styles.

Alison: Exactly!

Alison: Now, let’s talk about things you should not say.

Will: Now, let’s talk about things to be careful about.

Alison: Yes!

Alison: Some expressions can sound too strong or even rude.

Will: The first one is “hate.”

Will: In casual speech, “I hate it” is okay.

Alison: Like “I hate traffic” or “I hate Mondays.”

Will: But saying “I hate your cooking” is too strong.

Alison: That sounds really rude!

Alison: A softer way is “It’s not my favorite.”

Will: Or “It’s not really my thing.”

Alison: Another thing to be careful about is talking about people.

Will: Yes!

Will: Saying “I don’t like him” sounds very direct.

Alison: A more polite way is “We don’t get along.”

Will: Or “He’s not my favorite person.”

Alison: That sounds much nicer!

Will: Now, let’s talk about cultural taboos.

Will: In some cultures, people say, “I hate this food” very directly.

Alison: But in English, that sounds impolite.

Alison: If you don’t like a dish, just say, “It’s not my taste.”

Will: Or “I’m not used to this flavor.”

Will: That sounds more respectful.

Alison: Another thing to avoid is saying “disgusting.”

Will: Yes!

Will: “Disgusting” is a very strong word.

Alison: Instead, you can say, “It’s not for me.”

Will: Or “I don’t really enjoy this.”

Alison: Here’s one more mistake—being too extreme.

Will: Right!

Will: Some learners say, “I love everything” or “I hate everything.”

Alison: That sounds unrealistic!

Alison: A more natural way is “I like a lot of things.”

Will: Or “I don’t like many things.”

Alison: So, be careful with strong words.

Will: And choose softer expressions when needed.

Alison: Now, let’s wrap things up!

Will: We covered a lot today!

Alison: Yes!

Alison: We learned how to express likes and dislikes naturally.

Will: From simple phrases like “I like it” to stronger ones like “I love it.”

Alison: And from polite phrases like “It’s not my thing” to strong ones like “I can’t stand it.”

Will: We also talked about common mistakes.

Alison: Like “I very like it” ❌ and “I hate it like a cat hates water” ❌.

Will: Some were funny, but some were just wrong!

Alison: We also compared British and American English.

Will: Yes!

Will: Brits say “I’m keen on it,” while Americans say “I’m into it.”

Alison: And “It’s not my cup of tea” vs. “It’s not my thing.”

Will: Plus, we learned what not to say.

Alison: Like why “I hate your cooking” sounds rude.

Will: And why “disgusting” is too strong.

Alison: So, be careful with strong words!

Will: Now, it’s your turn!

Alison: Tell us in the comments—what do you love?

Will: And what can’t you stand?

Alison: Use the phrases from today’s lesson!

Will: And practice expressing yourself naturally.

Alison: Also, don’t forget to subscribe to our podcast.

Will: And turn on CC subtitles if you need them.

Alison: Thanks for listening!

Will: See you next time!