Langvie / German grammar / German mögen and gern: saying what you like
German mögen and gern: saying what you like.
mögen says what you like, and gern says what you like doing.
Expressing liking things with mögen
Use the verb mögen when you like a person or a thing. The noun that follows mögen always takes the accusative case.
| Pronoun | Present form |
|---|---|
| ich | mag |
| du | magst |
| er / sie / es | mag |
| wir | mögen |
| ihr | mögt |
| sie / Sie | mögen |
- Ich mag den Käse.I like the cheese.
- Magst du Fisch?Do you like fish?
Liking actions with gern, nicht gern and lieber
Add gern directly after a verb to say that you enjoy doing an action. Use nicht gern when you dislike the action, and lieber to express what you prefer doing.
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| gern | like doing | Ich trinke gern Kaffee. |
| nicht gern | do not like doing | Ich esse nicht gern Fleisch. |
| lieber | prefer doing | Ich trinke lieber Saft. |
- Ich koche gern Suppe.I like cooking soup.
- Ich trinke lieber Tee.I prefer drinking tea.
Exceptions to remember
- The ich and er/sie/es forms of mögen have no ending and share the exact same stem. Er mag den Apfel.
- Do not use mögen before another verb; use gern after the verb instead. Ich esse gern Gemüse.
Practice it in the course
This rule is chapter 17 of 31 in the A1 German course in Langvie, after The German accusative case, with möchten and before es gibt in German: there is, there are. In the app the chapter goes on with 8 exercises and a short spoken conversation with an AI partner, which opens with Ich habe Hunger! Was isst du gern?
Choose the correct form of mögen. ___ du den Salat? (Magst / Mag / Mögt)
Magst. The subject du requires the verb form magst. Do you like the salad?
Practice this rule in Langvie.
Chapter 17 of the A1 course, with exercises, cards and a conversation in German.