***** NOT A TEACHER *****
Hi,
I have read your answer, but I do not understand why people will lose respect for me if I tell them 'I prefer read newspapers'. Maybe it is about the sense of my sentence but you know I am not English and It seems to me nice.
I do not disagree with you but I don't see a difference, there is surely one but I cannot see it.
Thanks for all people who have answered me.
***** NOT A TEACHER *****
(1) Thank you for your kind note.
(2) The word "respect" means different things to different people. It also probably has different meanings in each language.
(3) The reason you visit this website is that you want to speak "correct" English. You don't want to speak "incorrect" English. Why? Because you want people to understand what you are saying.
(4) If you had an English teacher, and he said things such as, " I prefer read newspapers," and "He don't like me, " and "I is tired," the students would say: He doesn't know English. They would not "respect" him.
(5) I am very sorry that you do not understand why "I prefer read " is not "correct" English. I do not know anything about your language. But I think (ONLY think) that MAYBE the problem is that in your language the infinitive is one word. I looked in a dictionary and learned that "lire" in
French means "to + read." So in your language, you do not have to say "to + lire," The "to" is already inside "lire." But English is different. Often you must actually say (or write) the word "to."
(6) Please remember that the teachers and non-teachers welcome your questions. If you don't agree or understand, that's OK. Just keep asking until you find someone who can explain it to you in a way that you can understand.
Have a nice day!!!