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6.5.1.2: gefallen

  • Page ID
    108137
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    The verb gefallen is not only irregular in the present tense, but also has a strange meaning for English speakers. Like many other irregular verbs, it changes the stem vowel in the second and third person singular forms (du and er/sie/es). It literally means something is pleasing to someone, but in a more meaningful translation you would say in English that it means 'like' but the structure of the phrase is different between English and German. This verb requires a dative noun or pronoun as one of its complements.

    gefallen • to like   (watch out for appropriate meaning!)
    ich gefalle ihm (He likes me) wir gefallen ihr (she likes us)
    du gefällst mir (I like you) ihr gefallt mir (I like y'all)
    er/sie/es gefällt mir (I like him/her/it) sie gefallen mir (I like them)

    In der Therapie:  As part of the healing process, after so much evil and after such vicious pasts, the Schlosseinwohner participate in weekly therapy sessions (led by Aschenputtel, the recently graduated psychotherapist) to ensure a friendly - or at least civil - coexistence in their new residence. Here are some recordings of their sessions:

    der Prinz Schneewittchen gefällt mir so sehr! like Snow White so much!
    die böse Königin Und gefalle ich dir auch? And do you like me too?
    der Prinz Also, nein, leider nicht! Sie gefallen mir gar nicht. Es tut mir wirklich leid. Well, no, unfortunately not. I don't like you at all. I'm really sorry.
    die böse Königin Schon gut. Du gefällst mir auch nicht. Mir gefallen mehr ältere Männer, die reich sind! Oh well, I don't like you either. I prefer older men, who are rich!

    gefallen is used with nouns. You can start with the dative noun (here, the person doing the liking) or with the nominative noun (the one who is liked).

    Dem Froschkönig gefällt die junge Prinzessin. The frog king likes the young princess.
    Der Froschkönig gefällt der jungen Prinzessin überhaupt nicht! The young princess does not like the frog king at all!

    Likes and dislikes

    You can also express like or dislike with gern haben or gern + verb.

    gern haben is used with nouns, just like gefallen, but it does not require the dative case. The haben part gets conjugated according depending on who does the liking:

    Der Froschkönig hat die junge Prinzessin gern. The frog king likes the young princess.
    Leider hat die junge Prinzessin den Froschkönig überhaupt nicht gern! Alas, the young princess does not like the frog king at all!
    Keine Prinzessinnen haben den Froschkönig gern! No princesses like the frog king!

    vi_04_01_any-frog-king.gif

    gern can be used with verbs to describe activities one enjoys doing. The verb is conjugated to match the person who is doing the enjoying:

    die Hexe Ich esse gern kleine Kinder! like to eat small children!
    Aschenputtel Und was machen Sie sonst noch gern? And what else do you like to do?
    die Hexe Hmm ... ich lese und schreibe gern Gedichte! Hmmm ... I like to read and write poetry!
    die böse Königin Haha, aber sie bäckt nicht mehr gern! Teehee, but she no longer likes to bake!
    die Hexe Warum musst du diese Geschichte immer wieder aufrühren? Du weißt doch, dass ich da gar nicht gern drüber spreche! Why do you have to keep bringing up this story? You know quite well that I don't like to speak about it at all!

    Related words

    der Gefallen favor
    tue mir einen Gefallen do me a favor ...
    das Gefallen pleasure
    gefällig helpful, pleasant (e.g., behavior)

    Fun phrases

    lass dir das doch nicht gefallen! don't let them do that to you!
    erlaubt ist, was gefällt anything goes

    This page titled 6.5.1.2: gefallen is shared under a CC BY license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Zsuzsanna Abrams and co-workers (Center for Open Educational Resources and Language Learning) .

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