English lesson 5: Things You Like to Do

“Things You Like to Do”

Expressing your interests and hobbies is an important skill to develop in English. You might be in this situation when you are at a party with friends or even at a business meeting talking to other co-workers. In addition to talking about the things you like to do, there are also things we have to do because of responsibility, promise or duty. In the case of talking about things you like to do, the most common way to express yourself is to follow the patter of Like to/Want to/Have to + verb. For example, 1. “I like to swim.” 2. “I want to take a vacation.” 3. “I have to buy more gifts.” In the case of “Like” you can take a short cut and use the pattern Like + verb + ing as in the example, “I like swimming.” Unfortunately there isn’t a short cut for the other two expressions “want” and “have.” Also, there are other levels of “like” such as, “love” which means one’s favorite and “enjoy” which is the formal way to say you like something. I also want to mention the words, “hate” “avoid” and “can’t stand” as negative forms of the word “like.” Let’s look at some natural expressions you might use in conversation.

Key words:
I like fishing
I like to go to bed late
I enjoy watching movies
I want to get a cup of hot chocolate
I have to clean my house
I avoid doing dishes
I hate waiting in line
I can’t stand talking to her
Doya= do you (reduction)

Here are some situational examples:
Example: Two friends
(Casual):
w Do’ya like fishing?
u I used to when I was a kid.

Example: Two co-workers
(Everyday)
w Why are you always late for work?
u I like to go to bed late and wake up late.

Example: Boss to manager
(Formal):
w There is a long line in the cafeteria.
u I hate waiting in line.