It is easy to talk about likes and dislikes in English: “I like this” and “I don’t like that” are OK. Sometimes you want to say something a little different and ‘love’ and ‘hate’ are not what you were thinking about.
Likes
There are some interesting ways to talk about things you like.
- enjoy
- be into
You can use ‘enjoy’ with ‘-ing’ or nouns. You can enjoy activities, food and drink and abstract things (freedom, education). You can not enjoy people or animals unless you use an ‘-ing’ verb.
I enjoyed dinner.
He enjoys science-fiction novels.
She enjoys being with him.
You enjoy playing with your dog, don’t you?
If you are into something it means that you are very interested in it or like it a lot. Again, use it with nouns or ‘-ing’. You can also use into with people to say that you love them romantically, though it’s very informal.
I’m into studying English.
He’s into jazz.
Dislikes
- not keen on
- detest
If you are not keen on something, you dislike it. You can use ‘keen on’ to express a liking but ‘not keen on’ is far more common. Again use it with gerunds (‘-ing’) or nouns.
My wife isn’t keen on my cooking.
I’m not keen on cleaning the house at all.
To detest something is to hate it.