◄Previous: 1 The adverb gern

# 2 gern, sehr gern, nicht gern

Now, some things you will like more than others. How can you say that you like something very much, or a little, or not at all?

## Activity 2

Look at these smiley or not so smiley faces. Which variations of gern do you think matches which emoji? Please note the words for ‘not’ (nicht) and for ‘especially/particularly’ (besonders).

Drag and drop the expressions to match the images. If you’re unsure whether you’re correct, just click on‚ ‘reveal answer’ to check.

besonders gern

überhaupt nicht gern

gern

nicht gern

nicht so gern

sehr gern

Using the following two lists, match each numbered item with the correct letter.

1. besonders gern

2. überhaupt nicht gern

3. gern

4. nicht gern

5. nicht so gern

6. sehr gern

1. 1

2. 2

3. 3

4. 4

5. 5

6. 6

The correct answers are:

- 1 =
- 2 =
- 3 =
- 4 =
- 5 =
- 6 =

### Answer

The correct answer is:

## Table 1 Answer to Activity 2

= gern | = nicht so gern
= sehr gern | = nicht gern
= besonders gern | = überhaupt nicht gern

## Box 1 Expressing likes and dislikes

It’s worth remembering that gern is an adverb. It adds further information about the verb and, therefore, needs to be close to it. In a basic statement, only negations (e.g. nicht, überhaupt nicht) or graduations (e.g. sehr, total, besonders) should come between the verb and gern.

Here are some examples

## Table 2 Using gern in a sentence

Florian isst Fleisch. | Florian eats meat.
Florian isst gern Fleisch. | Florian likes to eat meat.
Anna trinkt Kakao. | Anna drinks cocoa.
Anna trinkt gern Kakao. | Anna likes to drink cocoa.

To say you like it very much, add sehr gern; to say you don’t like something, add nicht gern.

## Table 3 Using sehr gern and nicht gern

Ich trinke sehr gern Wein. | I like (to drink) wine very much.
Er isst nicht gern Gemüse. | He doesn’t like (to eat) vegetables.

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OpenLearn - Getting started with German 2
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