# I like it when...



## Seikun

Hi
I was wondering, how do you say "I like it when..." in Japanese as when an action performed by someone makes you feel happy or in a good mood?

Example
I like it *when *he sings that song.
I like it *when* my mother makes a cake for me.
I like it *when* he teaches Japanese to me.

As you can see, the emphasis is on the word _when_ to express that *whenever* a certain action takes place/is perfromed it makes me happy so I like it.
Is there a way to epxress this in Japanese other than perhaps:

私は彼がその歌を歌うことが好きです。
I am not sure this is correct or if it is expressing exactly what I want. I think this sounds more like "I like that he sings that song".

Thanks in advance!


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## Vaan

Hmm, here are my tries:

I like it when he sings that song.
彼があの歌を歌う(その)ときが好き
あの歌を歌っているときの彼が好き


I like it when my mother makes a cake for me.
お母さんが私のためにケーキを作ってくれるその時間が好き


I like it when he teaches Japanese to me.
彼が私に日本語を教えてくれる(その)ときが好き
日本語を私に教えてくれるときの彼が好き


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## Seikun

Vaan said:


> Hmm, here are my tries:
> 
> I like it when he sings that song.
> 彼があの歌を歌う(その)ときが好き
> あの歌を歌っているときの彼が好き
> 
> 
> I like it when my mother makes a cake for me.
> お母さんが私のためにケーキを作ってくれるその時間が好き
> 
> 
> I like it when he teaches Japanese to me.
> 彼が私に日本語を教えてくれる(その)ときが好き
> 日本語を私に教えてくれるときの彼が好き



As I can see there are several patterns to express this in Japanese. I think the ones with the pattern "時が好きです" are easier for me to understand. On the other hand, the pattern "時の..." is new to me and a bit tricky ever since it is followed by particle の and I would be thankful if I could get more details about this pattern.

Thank you very much for replying.


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## 涼宮

Using の is to connect 彼 with the clause, think of it as a big subordinate clause. Literally it'd be something like: _he who_ teaches me Japanese, that moment I like it. Actually, if you've watched anime or read stories and you pay attention it is often the case the narrator uses that pattern to explain an event, like: 嵐の中で命を落としてしまった彼は、ともだちのおかげで蘇った, lit. he who had lost his life in the storm was resurrected thanks to his friends. But it's often translated as simply: He died in the storm and was resurrected thanks to his friends. Since 時 is a noun の is needed. The reason why you'd use that pattern as opposed to something like the first sentence is because it sounds more fluent or elegant, plus you have a second clause, it makes the sentence easier to read using that pattern.


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## Seikun

Hi.
Japanese has many constructions that don't have similar equivalents in Indo-eurpean languages so that makes some constructions and meanings a bit harder to grasp, but I will try this just to confirm whether or not I am on the right track...

If I were to translate this in a more literal way it would go like this:
日本語を私に教えてくれる*ときの彼*が好き = _I like the (that) he of the time/moment of teaching Japanese to me _or_ the (that) he when teaching _Japanese to me I like.

Not gramatically correct English but is that more or less what is being said in Japanese literally?

Thanks for replying.


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## Vaan

☞ 彼があの歌を歌う(その)ときが好き
The core part is ときが好き.
The speaker is fond of the song, the atmosphere, and maybe the place where he sings.
e.g.
彼は私の誕生日の最後に歌を歌ってくれる。He sings songs for me at the end of my birthday party.
その時間（とき）が好き。I like that moment.
(Sometimes you can read 時間 as とき.）

☞ あの歌を歌っているときの彼が好き
The core part is 彼が好き。
The sentence doesn't tell whether the speaker likes him when he's not singing, but anyway she thinks he's attractive when he's singing.

あの歌を歌っている彼が好き
has the similar meaning, but the presence of とき emphasizes the contrast between 'when he's singing' and 'when he's NOT singing'.
e.g.
まわっているときのコマは，たおれない 
≒ まわっているコマは，たおれない
A spinning-top doesn't topple when it is spinning.


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## Seikun

Thanks for replying.

The pattern 時が好き is easily understandable for me, it translates easily into Enlgish.

On the other hand, the pattern 時の彼が is a bit hard to grasp. I wonder if の is acting as the possessive particle...
_Relative time expression + の + personal pronoun_ is a strange pattern for me.

It is hard for me to explain what my confusion and/or lack of understanding of this pattern is, but I have seen this in other expressions such as 今日の彼、今の私, etc. I understand the pattern 時の彼が in a broad sense as you have explained to me but in more detail it is a strange pattern for me because I don't find this in English or Spanish. All I can think about this is that in a literal way it would translate as "the he of (that) time/moment".

I sometimes go for literality because it helps me understand complex constructions in other languages by making me see the thought process implied in them.

Well, thanks for the help^^


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## 涼宮

Seikun said:


> On the other hand, the pattern 時の彼が is a bit hard to grasp. I wonder if の is acting as the possessive particle...
> _Relative time expression + の + personal pronoun_ is a strange pattern for me.



You mustn't translate this or you won't understand it. It's fairly easy to understand, you need a *connector* because of that particular _sentence structure_ (syntax).

How else would you link 彼 with his action?

日本語を私に教えてくれるとき < who does that? 彼 does, if I'm going to put it after the whole clause then I need a connector, that connector is の, 日本語を私に教えてくれるときの彼が. It's easy, it's a matter of syntax, if it goes at the beginning you don't use の, but at the end you use の.

You need to try to understand Japanese from a conceptual point of view, not from one of translation looking for equivalents in other languages. The Japanese language is filled with abstract words that add special meanings, like よ、ね、さ、もの、わけ, etc.


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## Flaminius

Apparently there is no fixed Japanese construction that matches the English "like it when".  Here are a few possible constructions.

1. relative clause headed by the object in the main clause
あの歌を歌う彼が好きだ。

2. benefactive construction
彼に日本語を教えてもらうのが好きだ。

3. conjunction _-to_
お母さんがケーキを作ってくれると、わたしはいつも幸せな気分になる。


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## Seikun

The Time + の + personal pro(noun) pattern to express "I like it when..." here has been the most strange pattern to me, but I am having a better image of how that pattern works, still is a tricky pattern for me. I found another thread on Wordreference were someone asked about this pattern and I would like to discuss it there too.

Thanks for all the help^^


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