Questions & Answers about Ich mag die Zwiebel nicht.
Why is it mag instead of something regular like möge?
The verb mögen (to like) is a modal verb, which means its conjugation is irregular. For ich (I) and er/sie/es (he/she/it), the vowel changes from ö to a, and there is no ending. So it becomes ich mag (I like).
Why is nicht at the very end of the sentence?
When you negate the main verb or the entire action of a sentence (here, the fact that you like it), nicht usually goes at the very end. It comes directly after the direct object, which in this case is die Zwiebel.
In English, I would usually say 'I don't like onions' in the plural. Does this sentence mean the same thing?
Not quite. This sentence specifically means 'I do not like THE onion' (for example, a specific onion you are tasting or looking at right now). To say 'I don't like onions' in general, you would use the plural and the negative article keine, resulting in Ich mag keine Zwiebeln.
I often use möchte to say I want something. Is mag related to that?
Yes, they are closely related! The word möchte (would like) is actually a special grammatical form of the verb mögen (to like). You use mag when you generally like a thing, and möchte when you politely want to have or do something right now.
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