Breakdown of Wir essen sehr gern Fleisch, aber Peter isst lieber Fisch.
gern
gladly, like to
sehr
very
aber
but
wir
we
essen
to eat
Peter
Peter
lieber
rather / preferably
das Fleisch
the meat
der Fisch
the fish
Questions & Answers about Wir essen sehr gern Fleisch, aber Peter isst lieber Fisch.
Why do we use sehr gern instead of a German verb for 'to like'?
In German, to say you like doing an action, you use the action verb plus the adverb gern. Here, essen gern means 'like to eat'. Adding sehr makes it stronger, so essen sehr gern translates to 'really like eating'.
How does lieber work in the second half of the sentence?
lieber means 'rather' or 'preferably'. It is the comparative form of gern. While Peter might also like meat, he likes fish more, so he isst lieber Fisch (prefers eating fish).
Why did the verb change from essen to isst?
essen (to eat) has an irregular vowel change. For wir (we), it is regular: wir essen. But for er, sie, es (he/she/it), the first 'e' changes to an 'i', making it isst for Peter.
Why do sehr gern and lieber come before the food?
In German, adverbs that describe how you do an action (like gern and lieber) usually stick close to the verb. They come right after the verb and before the object (Fleisch or Fisch).
Learn Wir essen sehr gern Fleisch, aber Peter isst lieber Fisch and more in German
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free