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German Phrase

Ich liebe es, Gitarre zu spielen.

/ɪç ˈliːbə ɛs ˈɡiːtaʁə tsuː ˈʃpiːlən/
Meaning"I love playing the guitar."
💡

Meaning

Literally, ‘I love it to play guitar.’ In everyday English it means ‘I love playing the guitar.’ The sentence expresses a strong personal enjoyment of the activity.

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When to use

Use this phrase when you want to talk about a hobby or activity you are passionate about, especially in casual conversation or when introducing yourself to new friends.

✦Grammar Breakdown

Ichliebees,Gitarrezuspielen.

1

Verb conjugation (lieben)

‘lieben’ is a regular verb; in the first person singular present it becomes ‘liebe’.

2

Placeholder ‘es’

When a verb of feeling (lieben, mögen, hassen, etc.) is followed by an infinitive clause, German inserts the dummy pronoun ‘es’.

3

zu‑Infinitive

After many verbs of preference, the infinitive is introduced with ‘zu’ (e.g., ‘zu spielen’).

4

Comma before infinitive clause

A comma separates the main clause from the ‘zu‑Infinitiv’ clause.

🗨In Conversation

A

Ich liebe es, Gitarre zu spielen.

I love playing the guitar.

Das klingt toll! Wie lange spielst du schon?

That sounds great! How long have you been playing?

B

✕Common Mistakes

  • Ich liebe Gitarre zu spielen.

    Missing the placeholder ‘es’; German requires ‘es’ before the infinitive clause.

  • Ich liebe es Gitarre zu spielen.

    A comma is needed before the infinitive clause to separate the two parts.

  • Ich liebe es, Gitarre spielen.

    The infinitive must be introduced with ‘zu’; ‘spielen’ alone is incorrect here.

↔Alternatives

  • Ich spiele gern Gitarre.

    I like to play the guitar.

  • Gitarre spielen macht mir Spaß.

    Playing the guitar is fun for me.

  • Ich habe eine Leidenschaft für das Gitarrespielen.

    I have a passion for playing the guitar.

de

Cultural Tip

In German, the dummy ‘es’ is required after verbs like ‘lieben’ when they are followed by a ‘zu‑Infinitiv’ clause. Skipping it sounds ungrammatical. Also, Germans often talk about hobbies with the structure ‘Ich liebe es, … zu …’ which sounds more expressive than the simple ‘Ich spiele gern …’. Regionally there is no major variation for this phrase, but in informal speech you might hear the shorter ‘Ich spiel gern Gitarre.’