6 Talking about what you like using aimer, adorer and préférer + le/la/les

To express your likes, you can use several verbs: aimer, adorer or préférer.

Chrystelle adore les légumes.

Benoît aime le poisson.

Il préfère les fruits de mer.

Note that you will need a definite article (le, la, l’ or les) when using the verbs of liking with a noun.

  • Il aime le poisson. He likes fish.
  • Il aime la viande. He likes meat.
  • Elle adore l’ananas. She loves pineapple.
  • J’aime les desserts. I love dessert.

You may have noticed that the verb endings of ‘adorer’ and ‘préférer’ when used with different pronouns are the same as for ‘aimer’.

Figure 4 Un marché en Guadeloupe

Beaucoup (a lot), bien (rather a lot) and assez (quite), placed after the verb aimer, are used to say how much you like things. Surtout means ‘above all’.

Activity 8

In this activity, you are going to practise the use of the definite article. Fill in the gaps with the appropriate article: le, la or les.