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To like doing/ to like to do // I would like to do
The verb To LIKE is expressing sentiments, as well as DISLIKE, LOVE, HATE, PREFER. Those verbs of feelings, are never used in the –ing form. They're employed very frequently, but the constructions of those forms are often the source of problems and hesitations for learners.
1) TO LIKE = is a regular verb and is most often followed by an –ing form, but it may also be followed by a FULL INFINITIVE.
- I like getting up early, but I also like to get up later at weekends.
** For «Beginners», we may rightfully consider that those two forms can be used indifferently.
- I like singing and dancing with my friends; I like talking and hanging around with them, too...
= I like to sing and dance with my friends; I like to talk and hang around with them too...
REMINDER! A verb ending with the following pattern: "consonant + vowel + consonant", must double the final consonant: -get => getting; run = running; BUT eat=> eating.
** For higher levels of the language, you may notice and feel ("M'am, I can't feel anything!" ) what you mean in order to make a clear distinction between the different meanings and nuances.
- First and foremost, across the Atlantic, in the United States, the two forms are used indifferently, and in any socio-cultural background.
- It's also mostly the case in Great Britain, though there are, in theory, distinctions between the two forms:
- I like speaking English, especially with British people. (It's an assessment of an activity or a fact. )
- I dislike to wait for friends, especially when I'm outside in the cold. (= It's a bad memory that I don't want to renew.)
This is the terrible vision I remember (or imagine) of something I don't want to do and may be forced to repeat in a near future. It's a dreaded prediction of the future.
2) On the contrary, in the conditional: YOU MUSTN'T HESITATE: 'like' is always followed by the INFINITIVE: I WOULD LIKE TO. It's the only possible form.
- He would like to create his company with his friends as partners... (= Present of the conditional)
- We would have liked to meet her before the party, but couldn't. (= past conditional)
The anticipation of the future is here clearly expressed. "To like", the FULL INFINITIVE FORM is the only possible construction behind WOULD.
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