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Lesson 26.2A2

Hobbies & Free Time

பொழுதுபோக்கு

Talking about hobbies leans heavily on gern, a small adverb that attaches to a verb to mean 'like to' — filling a gap Tamil closes with its own dedicated liking construction.

Grammar Comparison

இலக்கண ஒப்பீடு

gern attaches to the verb; Tamil attaches liking to the noun

German

Ich lese gern. (I like to read — gern modifies lese directly, no separate 'like' verb)

Tamil

எனக்கு படிப்பது பிடிக்கும். (to-me reading is-liked — a separate liking verb, பிடி, takes the activity as its subject)

Tamil expresses liking with a dedicated verb, பிடி ('to like/be pleasing'), that takes the liked activity as its grammatical subject and the liker in the dative — structurally close to English 'reading pleases me'. German instead skips a separate 'like' verb entirely for everyday preferences and just tucks gern next to the action verb: lese gern, spiele gern, koche gern. There's no direct word-for-word translation of gern — treat it as a modifier meaning 'happily/with pleasure' bolted onto whatever verb names the hobby.

Vocabulary

சொற்கள்

GermanPronunciationTamilEnglish
Ich lese gern.ikh LAY-zeh gairnஎனக்கு படிப்பது பிடிக்கும்.enakku paḍippadhu piḍikkum.I like to read.
Ich spiele gern Fußball.ikh SHPEE-leh gairn FOOS-bahlஎனக்கு கால்பந்து விளையாடுவது பிடிக்கும்.enakku kālpandhu viḷaiyāḍuvadhu piḍikkum.I like to play football.
das Hobbydahs HOB-eeபொழுதுபோக்குpoḻudhupōkkuhobby
schwimmenSHVIM-enநீச்சல் அடிக்கnīchal aḍikkato swim
singenZING-enபாடpāḍato sing
malenMAH-lenவரையvaraiyato paint