[Grammar] "like to V" and "tend to V"

[simile]

The sentences are like this:
Are you a person who likes to procrastinate?
Are you a person who tends to procrastinate?

Do you think "tends to" is better than "likes to"?
Or does it depend on different context?
If someone's procrastination is already a habit, he just likes to procrastinate when facing anything that he doesn't like to do.
Isn't this logical in English?

In the context below, do you think it's appropriate to use "likes to"?
　　Are you a person who likes to procrastinate? If so, here are some tips for you to follow to quit this bad habit.

Thanks in advance!

 

[MikeNewYork]

I don't think anybody likes to procrastinate. Many people tend to procrastinate.

 

[simile]

Let's take a look at the definition in the Longman Dictionary:
When "like" means "do something regularly," the context can be reasonable and it also takes on an ironic tone.
Some people's procrastination is already a habit. You can't deny that there are people like that in the world.
Therefore, if we say, "Are you a person who likes to procrastinate?", it actually takes on an ironic meaning in it.
It's not the first meaning in the dictionary, which means (1)"think something is nice," (2)"like a person," (3)"approve of something," but, rather, it's the fourth meaning "do something regularly," which can be applied here in the ironic expression.

 

[Roman55]

I am not a teacher.

'To like to do something' can be used to refer to something that you do regularly, as in the quoted definition 'I like to get up early and…'.

As a question, I would find it very unnatural if it didn't carry the meaning 'enjoy'. 'Do you like to get up early?' or even worse, 'Are you a person who likes to procrastinate?' I think that if you really want to know whether it is an habitual activity, rather than one that the person enjoys doing, you should change the question to, 'Are you a procrastinator?' or, 'Do you often procrastinate?' The original wording is ambiguous.

 

[emsr2d2]

"To like to do something" and "to tend to do something" don't mean the same thing so it's impossible to say which one is better, which is the question you posed in post #1.

 

[simile]

A word may have several meanings.
In this case, from the definition "do something regularly," it does denote a meaning without "enjoy."
The verb "like" doesn't only serve the function of denoting the meaning of "enjoy something." It also denotes some different meanings from "enjoy."
Otherwise, the dictionary should only give you the first two meanings and it is enough for the verb "like."
All the multiple meanings should be combined into one, which is "enjoy." (But the truth is not the case.)
However, meaning (3) "approve of something" doesn't really 100% contain the meaning of enjoy. If it does, it's not necessary for the dictionary to separate the entries. It should be combined with the first two meanings: (1) think something is nice (2) like a person

Let's take a look at the meaning (4) do something regularly: to try to do something regularly or make something happen regularly.
Do you denote any meaning of "enjoy something" in the English explanation?
The example sentence: I like to get up early and get a bit of work done before breakfast.
In the sentence, the meaning of "like" just means it is a habit and somehow maybe it's just the thing he or she has to do because of some reason.
It doesn't necessarily connect the meaning with "enjoy."
The second sentence: We like our students to take part in college sports activities.
In this sentence, can you denote the meaning of "100% enjoy" in the verb "like." I don't think so.
It somehow more connects the meaning with "want."

It's just like some big words in English: get, ,make, take, etc.
They have multiple meanings and those meanings of a particular verb can be very different from one another.
The verb "get" can mean "take something" while on the other hand "arrive somewhere" and sometimes "understand," and so on.
As to the verb "make," you can make a model car by your hand, but when you say, "His good nature makes him a good husband."
The former "make" is totally different from the latter one.

The same philosophy applied here for the verb "like" is the same one as used in the verb "get" and "make."
The verb "like" does have multiple meanings and they are quite different from one another. Not every meaning of "like" contains "enjoy."

And the context is the most important thing. My original article is about a person who already makes procrastination a habit. He regularly procrastinates whenever there's an assignment. No reason. He just procrastinates over and over again.
I don't think "tend to" is strong enough to charge him of "being in the state of not-to-do-anything."
Here, it doesn't mean he likes it or not. It just ironically describes his characteristics when facing any assignment. It more describes his "symptom" than his "tendency."

 

[Roman55]

I am not a teacher.

Thank you so much for your unsolicited English lesson simile, but you have utterly failed to understand my post.

I am quite familiar with all the meanings of 'like', but what I was trying to say was that in a question such as, 'Are you a person who likes to procrastinate?' I, as a native speaker, take that to mean 'Do you enjoy procrastinating?' and not 'Do you regularly procrastinate?'

 

[simile]

Thanks for your insight. I learned a lot.
So even in an ironic tone, I still can't use "like to" to make fun of my reader? Because when the sentence is a question, a native speaker would naturally think it means "enjoy" and it's irritating to be made fun of, right?
I teach English. I need to make things clear to my students. I really thank for all the replies here.

(You are not a teacher while I'm not a native speaker. ^_^)

 

[simile]

There seems no further reply to the usage of ironic tone or humorous tone when using "like to" to mock people who procrastinate in a question sentence. I guess the usage is OK when used in this way? (The context of that article is meant to be in a mocking tone.)