german_sentence_builder

Idioms and
special phrases
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Gern
Idioms are phrases that acquire their meaning from an entire expression and cannot
be translated word for word. Imagine a German trying to make sense of the
phrase Good looks run in the family by checking out the individual words in a
dictionary.
ordinary words 1 unexpected usage idiom
The same is true when dealing with German idioms. Although they require
care in their use, idioms are highly useful for writing interesting sentences, because
they often provide a casual tone to a sentence and even a little fun in a text.
Not all phrases that are difficult to translate are idioms. Some just have a
special or even limited usage or are part of the German grammar that does not
exist in English.
Let’s look at a variety of idioms and special phrases that can be useful in
creating lively or colorful sentences. Some are pat phrases that have only one form;
others are more flexible and can change elements within their structure.
The verb to like in German is composed of the infinitive haben followed by gern:
Hast du ihn gern?
Tina hat Professor Keller gern.
Do you like him?
Tina likes Professor Keller.
Gern can be used with other verbs and still retain the meaning like. In such
cases the word gern follows the verb directly and is not at the end of the clause as
with haben:
Ich tanze gern mit Angela.
Die Mädchen spielen gern
Tennis oder Basketball.
I like dancing with Angela.
The girls like playing tennis or
basketball.
The comparative and superlative of gern are lieber and am liebsten, respectively,
and show a higher degree of liking to do something:
Wir spielen lieber Schach.
Wir spielen am liebsten Tennis.
We prefer to play chess.
Most of all we like to play tennis.
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