"gern", Comparisons and "es gibt"

Saying what you like doing: gern

German has a wonderfully simple way to say you like doing something: take the normal verb and add the little word gern. Ich trinke Kaffee means I drink coffee; Ich trinke gern Kaffee means I like drinking coffee. No extra verb is needed.

gern usually stands right after the verb (and after a pronoun object if there is one): Ich koche gern. Ich sehe gern Filme. To say you do NOT like doing something, use nicht gern: Ich stehe nicht gern früh auf (I don't like getting up early).

Because gern attaches to any verb, it is more flexible than the English verb "to like". Whatever activity you can name with a verb, you can say you enjoy it, without learning any new structure.

You will also see the spelling gerne; gern and gerne mean exactly the same, and both are correct.

• Ich trinke gern Kaffee.

  I like drinking coffee.

• Meine Tochter liest gern.

  My daughter likes reading.

• Ich stehe nicht gern früh auf.

  I do not like getting up early.

Preferences: lieber and am liebsten

To compare what you like, gern has two special forms: lieber (preferably, rather) and am liebsten (most of all). Ich trinke gern Kaffee, aber ich trinke lieber Tee (I like coffee, but I prefer tea). Am liebsten trinke ich Wasser (Most of all, I like drinking water).

These three little words carry a whole conversation about hobbies, food and free time, which is exactly what the A1 speaking test asks about. Note the word order in the last example: when am liebsten starts the sentence, the verb still comes second and the subject follows, just as you learned in the word order lesson.

A very useful question pattern: Was machst du lieber: schwimmen oder laufen? (Which do you prefer doing: swimming or running?)

• Ich trinke lieber Tee.

  I prefer drinking tea.

• Am liebsten esse ich Pizza.

  Most of all, I like eating pizza.

  verb second after am liebsten

• Hörst du lieber Rock oder Pop?

  Do you prefer listening to rock or pop?

Comparing things: -er and als

To compare two things, German adds -er to the adjective and uses als where English says than: schnell becomes schneller, klein becomes kleiner. Der Bus ist schneller als das Fahrrad (The bus is faster than the bicycle).

Short adjectives with a, o or u usually add an umlaut: alt becomes älter, groß becomes größer, jung becomes jünger. And two everyday forms are completely irregular: gut becomes besser (good, better) and viel becomes mehr (much, more). You already know the third irregular pair: gern becomes lieber.

To say two things are equal, use so ... wie: Ich bin so alt wie mein Mann (I am as old as my husband). Note the pairing: -er goes with als, so goes with wie.

• Der Bus ist schneller als das Fahrrad.

  The bus is faster than the bicycle.

• Meine Schwester ist älter als ich.

  My sister is older than me.

  alt adds an umlaut: älter

• Dein Deutsch ist besser als mein Englisch.

  Your German is better than my English.

  irregular: gut - besser

• Ich bin so alt wie mein Mann.

  I am as old as my husband.

  equality: so ... wie

There is, there are: es gibt

The phrase es gibt means both there is and there are; the verb never changes: Es gibt einen Park. Es gibt zwei Cafés. It is one of the most frequent phrases in German, perfect for describing your town, a menu or a flat.

Grammatically, the thing that exists is a direct object, so es gibt takes the accusative, which you learned early on: es gibt einEN Supermarkt (masculine), eine Schule (feminine), ein Kino (neuter). The masculine einen is the form learners forget, so give it extra attention.

As a question, it becomes Gibt es ...?: Gibt es hier eine Apotheke? (Is there a pharmacy here?) In speech you will often hear this shortened to Gibt's.

• In meiner Stadt gibt es einen schönen Park.

  In my town there is a beautiful park.

  accusative: einen Park

• Es gibt heute Fisch mit Reis.

  There is fish with rice today.

• Gibt es hier einen Supermarkt?

  Is there a supermarket near here?