When you want to say how you feel about an activity, English usually puts the activity in the -ing form. After a verb like like, love, hate or enjoy, the next verb takes -ing: I like cooking, She hates waiting, We enjoy walking. It's the everyday way to talk about what you love and what you can't stand.
For the verbs in this lesson, the pattern is the same: a feeling verb + the -ing form of the activity. The first verb (or its auxiliary) changes for the subject — I like / she likes, I don't mind / she doesn't mind — but the activity verb keeps its -ing form and doesn't change.
Quick shortcut: pick a feeling verb (like, love, enjoy, hate, don't mind, prefer), then add the -ing form of the activity — I love dancing, They don't mind walking.
Which verbs take -ing?
These common verbs of liking and disliking are followed by -ing:
| Verb | Example |
|---|---|
| like | I like reading in bed. |
| love | She loves cooking. |
| enjoy | We enjoy swimming. |
| hate | He hates getting up early. |
| don't mind | I don't mind waiting. |
| prefer | They prefer walking to driving. |
The same works for can't stand (= really hate): I can't stand waiting.
Making the -ing form
For most verbs you just add -ing to the base form, but a few have small spelling changes:
| Rule | Examples |
|---|---|
| Most verbs: add -ing | play → playing, eat → eating, do → doing |
| Ends in a silent -e: drop the e | make → making, write → writing, dance → dancing |
| One-syllable verb ending consonant–vowel–consonant: double the last consonant | swim → swimming, run → running, sit → sitting |
| Ends in -ie: change to -ying | lie → lying, die → dying |
So it's ✅ making, never ❌ makeing, and ✅ swimming, never ❌ swiming. A couple of exceptions are worth knowing: keep a double -ee (see → seeing, not ❌ seing), and don't double a final w, x or y — ✅ snowing, fixing, playing.
Likes, dislikes, and in-between
You can line these verbs up from love to hate, and add really or don't to make the feeling stronger or weaker:
- I love painting. (the strongest like)
- I really like painting.
- I don't mind painting. (it's OK either way)
- I don't like painting.
- I hate painting. (the strongest dislike)
In the negative, the -ing form doesn't change — only the feeling verb does: I don't enjoy flying, She doesn't like cleaning.
A quick note on like + to
You may also see like, love and hate followed by to + verb: I like to cook sounds almost the same as I like cooking at this level. Both are correct, so the difference can wait. Note, though, that enjoy, don't mind and can't stand take -ing only — ✅ I enjoy cooking, never ❌ I enjoy to cook. So the -ing form is the safe, natural default after all of these feeling verbs.
The fuller picture of which verbs take -ing and which take to is a later topic, gerunds and infinitives. For now, like / love / hate / enjoy / don't mind / prefer + -ing covers your everyday likes and dislikes.
Common mistakes
- ❌ I enjoy to read. → ✅ I enjoy reading. (use -ing, not to, after enjoy)
- ❌ She likes swim. → ✅ She likes swimming. (the activity needs the -ing form)
- ❌ He loves runing. → ✅ He loves running. (double the consonant)
- ❌ They don't mind to wait. → ✅ They don't mind waiting.
- ❌ We enjoy makeing cakes. → ✅ We enjoy making cakes. (drop the e)
Quick check
Put the verb in brackets into the -ing form:
- I love ____ (dance) at parties.
- She doesn't like ____ (get) up early.
- They enjoy ____ (swim) in the sea.
- He hates ____ (write) emails.
- I don't mind ____ (cook) dinner.
Show answers
- dancing 2. getting 3. swimming 4. writing 5. cooking
Key takeaways
- After like, love, hate, enjoy, don't mind and prefer, the next verb takes the -ing form: I enjoy reading.
- Make the -ing form by adding -ing to the base verb, with small spelling changes: drop a final -e (make → making), double a final consonant in short words (swim → swimming), and change -ie to -ying (lie → lying).
- In negatives, only the feeling verb changes — the -ing stays: ✅ I don't like waiting.
- like + to (I like to cook) is also correct and means almost the same; the -ing form is the safe default at A2.