Personal Likes and Dislikes 13 (boas da gen)

In English we use object pronouns to say what we like or dislike. In Late Cornish we tend to use personal pronouns and the passive voice, in the same way as we use this, that, nouns and names. (How you start the sentence depends on what you want to stress – as in the following examples.) The third person is straightforward.

Hedna ew da genam.	I like that.
Cas ew genam hebma.	I hate this.
Bestes ew da genam.	I like animals.
Jowan ew da genam.	I like John.
Ev ew da genam.	I like him. I like it.
Cas ew hei genam.	I hate her. I hate it.
Anjei ew da genam.	I like them.
Nag ew hedna cas genam.	I don’t hate that.
Nag ew hebma da genam.	I don’t like this.
Bestes nag ew da genam.	I don’t like animals.
Nag ew da genam Jowan.	I don’t like John.
Nag ewa da genam.	I don’t like him. I don’t like it.
Nag ew hei da genam.	I don’t like her. I don’t like it.
Nag ens cas genam.	I don’t hate them.

                   

With the second person you have a choice. In response to the question:

Piw ew da genes?	Whom do you like? (familiar)
Piw ew da geno’whei?	Whom do you like? (formal)

You could answer:

Che ew da genam.	I like you.
Whei ew da genam.	I like you.

Or you could say:

Tho che da genam.	I like you.
Tho whei da genam bes ev ew gwell genam.	I like you but I like him better.
Nag o whei da genam, sür!	I sure don’t like you!

If you are entirely self absorbed:

Me o honan ew da genam.	I like myself.
Nag ew da genam me o honan.	I don’t like myself.

A more idiomatic way of saying this uses <cara> to love:
Thero vy ort o hara vy o honan.
Nag ero vy ort o hara vy o honan.

And, if you are talking about what other people like, you can substitute another part of the <gen> paradigm for <genam> (see PLD3), e.g.:

Hei ew da ganjo.	He likes her.
Saw ev nag ew da genjy.	But she doesn’t like him.