For example, which of these is correct:
Ich esse gern Pizza
or
Ich esse Pizza gern
asked Mar 7, 2012 at 12:56
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6There is even a third alternative: Gerne esse ich Pizza. although it might not be all that elegant... But grammatically it's correct.– musiKkCommented Mar 7, 2012 at 14:11
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2You can also say: "Pizza esse ich gern."– celtschkCommented Jun 11, 2013 at 22:53
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5 Answers
Both are correct. To me, Ich esse gerne Pizza hints at a question like Was ist Dein Lieblingsessen, whereas Ich esse Pizza gern would be more appropriate as an answer to Magst Du Pizza? That is, I would put the important word (the one carrying new information) at the end of the phrase.
answered Mar 7, 2012 at 13:29
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3+1 , I'd like to add that the second alternative "Ich esse Pizza gern." is also a good response if another person just said that he or she doesn't like pizza. "Ich esse Pizza gern." then has a notion of "I don't get how one can't like it" whereas "Ich esse gern Pizza" would be a bit more doubtful as to whether you yourself are a bit weird for liking it... it is veeeeeeery subtle though, my subjective perception and it highly depends on intonation I guess– EmanuelCommented Mar 7, 2012 at 16:46
Ich esse gern Pizza sounds more natural than Ich esse Pizza gern to a native speaker, even though both are correct.
Better: Ich esse gerne Pizza (standard language)
It depends. When you want to express that pizza is your favourite meal you can say:
Ich esse gern Pizza.
When you admit that you would be happy to eat pizza, e.g. that has already been ordered or served, you would say:
Ich esse Pizza gern.
In the first case, I would prefer "gerne" instead of "gern".
You can also say
"Ich mag Pizza" - this means that you like pizza.
"Ich esse Pizza gern" is a more formal way of saying it but if you want to say it to friends you should just say "ich mag Pizza" - they all mean the same thing.
The "proper position" depends of emphasis:
1) Ich esse gerne Pizza means I like pizza. (As opposed to hamburgers or frankfurters.)
2) Ich esse Pizza gern means "I like pizza." (As opposed to hate it.)
In either case, the part to be emphasized is at the end of the sentence.
Between the above, 1) is considered a bit more "standard" than 2)
