like

[navi tasan]

Are these sentences correct:
1-I'd like my room painted blue.
2-I'd like my breakfast in the garden.
3-I like music played loud.

 

[RonBee]

Yes. They are all correct.

 

[comicer]

Excuse me.
I want to ask why the 2nd is correct?
The meaning seems ambiguous. It's not clear if the speaker likes to have breakfast in the garden, or he likes having breakfast in the garden.

What does it actually mean? Can you please further explain it?

 

[RonBee]

"I'd like my breakfast in the garden" = "I would like to have my breakfast in the garden"

The speaker is saying he would like to eat breakfast in the garden.

8)

 

[Lib]

There is a difference between 'I like' and I'd like'.
When we say 'I like' something, we refer to things generally: I like dogs. I like music played loud. These sentences refer to always, they talk about facts that are 'always' or 'generally' true. I may of course change my opinion after I get bitten by a dog, or have an earache. But they talk about general truths.
'I'd like a dog' means that I want to have a dog (I probably don't have one).
'I'd like my room painted blue' means that my room is not blue now and I want it to be blue.
In both of these sentences we are referring to a specific occasion, not a general truth.
So, as Ronbee said, the three sentences are grammatically correct, but they don't mean the same.

 

[comicer]

oic. Thank you.

 

[Tdol]

BTW-
I like reading (general)
I like to read on the train (specific circumstances)
;-)

 

[navi tasan]

Good point TDOL, though I have always has a bit of a problem with this.
1-I like to read novels.
2-I like reading novels.
Is there any difference between the two?
And what is the difference between:
3-I like reading on the train.
and,
4-I like to read on the train.
Does 4 mean " I like to read when I am on a train.", while 3 means "Reading in the train is an activity I like."?

 

[RonBee]

1-I like to read novels.
2-I like reading novels.
Is there any difference between the two?

There is no real difference between the two.

And what is the difference between:
3-I like reading on the train.
and,
4-I like to read on the train.

I see no real difference between the two. It is possible (tho not likely) that context would reveal a diffference that is not apparent from the sentences themselves, but the sentences themselves do not reveal a real difference in meaning. In either case, it is likely that the individual actually does read on the train.

 

[Tdol]

I think 4 suggests that the person might not read much elsewhere. If I use the 'like to' construction it is for something a bit of the ordinary:
I like to drink tea in the summer = I don't drink it much in the winter.
;-)

 

[RonBee]

"I like to read on the train" could mean the the speaker prefers to read on the train rather than elsewhere, but that would have to be inferred. A literal reading of the sentence would not convey that information. If I say, "I like to read on the train; it helps me pass the time" that doesn't mean I prefer reading on the train to reading other places.

 

[Tdol]

I agree. Without the context, though, that is the difference I'd see. With the added information, then the implication is lost. ;-)

 

[Lib]

I've read in several ESL books that the difference between like + ing and like + infinitive is this:
I like reading = I enjoy it, it's fun.
I like to read = it is a good thing for me to do, but I don't necessarily enjoy it.
Another example - I like watching TV (it's a hobby)
I like to watch the news on TV - even though it is usually depressing, I am informed about what is going on in the world, and that is a good thing.

I think the original post mentioned 'I'd like to...', which is something very different.

 

[Tdol]

We've moved away from the original. quite a long way, actually. ;-)

 

[RonBee]

I've read in several ESL books that the difference between like + ing and like + infinitive is this:
I like reading = I enjoy it, it's fun.
I like to read = it is a good thing for me to do, but I don't necessarily enjoy it.
Another example - I like watching TV (it's a hobby)
I like to watch the news on TV - even though it is usually depressing, I am informed about what is going on in the world, and that is a good thing.

I think the original post mentioned 'I'd like to...', which is something very different.

In my humble opinion, those books are wrong. I wouldn't depend on a formula to tell me what a sentence means anyhow. If I say "I like to read" it means I enjoy reading. According to those ESL books, I am wrong. I don't think I am wrong.

"I like to smell roses." Does that mean smelling roses is good for me even tho I don't enjoy it? That is not what I would mean by that sentence.

"I like to eat pizza." Does that mean that I do enjoy eating pizza or that I don't enjoy eating pizza? It is hard for me to see how there could be confusion about that.

 

[Lib]

Sorry Ronbee, maybe I should have mentioned that those books also say that 'like + to' is more common in AE.

 

[RonBee]

Maybe it's an AE/BE thing.

 

[Tdol]

I think it must be as the 'like + to' form isn't that common in BE and is generally used to distinguish the pleasure in some way. ;-)