the verb “to Like”

I am sure that you have heard of the verb "to like" before in English! It's one of our favourite verbs. We use it all the time to talk about things that we enjoy doing.
Sono sicura che hai già sentito il verbo "to like" in inglese! È uno dei miei verbi preferiti. Lo usiamo per parlare delle cose che ci piace fare.

If we don't like doing something, we don't enjoy doing it!

Let's have a look at some examples of how to use "to like" in the present simple in the affirmative and negative forms.

Bob likes playing cards with his friends on Saturday mornings.
Di sabato mattina a Bob piace giocare a carte con i suoi amici.

The verb "to like" is often followed by a gerund, the "-ing" form of the verb. However, it is also possible to put an infinitive after the verb "to like". It is possible to say, for example,
Spesso il verbo "to like" è seguito da un gerundio, cioè il verbo in "ing". Tuttavia è anche possibile usare l'infinito dopo il verbo "to like". Possiamo dire ad esempio:

Bob likes to play cards with his friends on Saturday mornings.

Some other verbs which indicate preference are.

to love

to prefer

to hate

Look at some examples:

James loves watching films on TV whereas his sister prefers going to the cinema. James hates spending so much money just to see a film.
James loves to watch films on TV whereas his sister prefers to go to the cinema. James hates to spend so much money just to see a film.
A James piace guardare film alla tele, mentre sua sorella preferisce andare al cinema. James non sopporta dover spendere molti soldi solo per guardare un film.