6.5.1.2: gefallen
- Page ID
- 108137
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)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! | I 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! |
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! | I 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 |