Grammaire 2: aimer
On étudie !
(a) We use the verb aimer (to like) to state what or who we like, love. If an article is used with aimer, it is typically a definite article (le, la, l’, les).
J’aime les chiens. (I like dogs.)
Il aime le français. (He likes French)
Est-ce que tu aimes ta famille? (Do you like your family?)
(b) Like être and avoir, aimer has different forms depending on the subject used by the verb which you will need to memorize. Aimer itself is the infinitive form (it corresponds to the English form ”to like”) and you may be relieved to learn that as a regular verb, hundred of others -er verbs are conjugated the same way: by dropping the -er of the infinitive form and adding the endings bolded in the table below.
(c) Pay special attention to the prononciation of the conjugated forms in yellow. Do they sound the same? (They actually all sound like the letter M, even though they are spelled differently!) Are the final consonants of aimons and aimez pronounced? (No!)
AIMER (to like, to love)
| j’aime
tu aimes il/elle/on aime |
nous aimons
vous aimez ils/elles aiment |
Watch this video to practice pronouncing the verb aimer again (aimer au présent de l’indicatif) as it’s an important verb. Do you notice the following liaison in the 3 plural forms?
nouszaimons, vouszaimez, ils/elleszaiment.
(d) To express likes and dislikes, we use the verb aimer (to like) along with a second verb in the infinitive form (i.e. to eat, to play).
Elle aime manger des croissants. (She likes to eat croissants)
Notice how the first verb (aime) is conjugated with the subject pronoun ‘elle‘ whereas the second one is not (manger). This is called an “infinitive construction”. Just like in English, you will almost never see any two conjugated verbs next to each other. Thus, we will say “she likes to eat croissants”, but we will never say “she likes (she) eats croissants.” Use the structure aimer + INFINITIF below to indicate what you like to do. If describing a dislike, use the negation ne…pas around aimer:
En général, les étudiants n’aiment pas étudier le samedi soir.
(In general, students do not like to study on Saturday night).
Aimer + infinitif (to like to do)
| SUJETS + | AIMER (to like) + | Verbes en -ER (infinitif) |
|---|---|---|
|
je, j’ tu il, elle, on nous vous ils, elles |
aime aimes aime aimons aimez aiment |
écouter de la musique (listen to music). danser (to dance). nager (to swim). voyager (to travel). travailler (to work). étudier (to study). chanter (to sing). jouer (to play) au football, baseball, volley-ball, tennis, etc. parler français. (to speak French) visiter (to visit) les musées (museums), etc. manger [de la pizza, des croissants, etc.] (to eat). |
Here are some examples of what Jean likes to do:
Jean aime écouter de la musique. (Jean likes to listen to music.)
Jean aime étudier. (Jean likes to study.)
Jean aime parler français. (Jean likes to speak French).
In this video, you will hear a few people talk about activities they like and dislike.
- To practice, listen and repeat all of the dialogues.
(e) You have probably noticed that they are using the structure détester + infinitif to state a dislike in the video. This -er verb is conjugated like aimer. Here are some other ways to talk about your personal tastes:
Préférences
| Français | Anglais | Infinitif |
|---|---|---|
| J’adore… | I (really) love… | adorer |
| Je déteste… | I hate… | détester |
| Je préfère… | I prefer… | préférer |
