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Getting started with German 2
Getting started with German 2

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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.

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

  • a.Image shows three emoji in a row, they are green and indicate a happy faceImage shows three emoji in a row, they are green and indicate a happy faceImage shows three emoji in a row, they are green and indicate a happy face

  • b.Image shows an emoji which indicates a happy face

  • c.Image shows three emoji in a row, they are red and indicate a sad faceImage shows three emoji in a row, they are red and indicate a sad faceImage shows three emoji in a row, they are red and indicate a sad face

  • d.Image shows an emoji which indicates a sad face

  • e.Image shows two emoji in a row, they are red and indicate a sad faceImage shows two emoji in a row, they are red and indicate a sad face

  • f.Image shows two emoji in a row, they are green and indicate a happy faceImage shows two emoji in a row, they are green and indicate a happy face

The correct answers are:
  • 1 = a
  • 2 = c
  • 3 = b
  • 4 = e
  • 5 = d
  • 6 = f

Answer

The correct answer is:

Table 1 Answer to Activity 2
Image shows an emoji which indicates a happy face= gern Image shows an emoji which indicates a sad face= nicht so gern
Image shows two emoji in a row, they are green and indicate a happy faceImage shows two emoji in a row, they are green and indicate a happy face= sehr gern Image shows two emoji in a row, they are red and indicate a sad faceImage shows two emoji in a row, they are red and indicate a sad face= nicht gern
Image shows three emoji in a row, they are green and indicate a happy faceImage shows three emoji in a row, they are green and indicate a happy faceImage shows three emoji in a row, they are green and indicate a happy face= besonders gern Image shows three emoji in a row, they are red and indicate a sad faceImage shows three emoji in a row, they are red and indicate a sad faceImage shows three emoji in a row, they are red and indicate a sad face= 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.