Express likes and skills for actions (〜のが好き / 上手)

The Bridge Between Actions and Feelings: The Mental Model

In Japanese, descriptive adjectives like 好き(すき) (like), 上手(じょうず) (good at), 得意(とくい) (forte), and 苦手(にがて) (struggle with) must attach to nouns using the subject particle が:

• 猫が好きです: “I like cats” (Noun + が + 好き).
• テニスが上手です: “He is good at tennis” (Noun + が + 上手).

But what if what you like or excel at is not an object, but an action—like swimming, cooking, or reading books?

In Japanese, particles cannot stick to bare verbs. Saying *泳ぐが好きです is as broken as saying “I like to swim is pleasing.” You must first convert the action into an intangible noun concept.

That is the role of the nominalizer の (-ing / the act of):

• 泳ぐ: “to swim” (verb).
• 泳ぐの: “swimming / the act of swimming” (noun phrase).
• 泳ぐのが好きです: “I like swimming!”

The Formula: Plain Form + の

The nominalizer の attaches strictly to the plain dictionary form of the verb (never the polite ます form):

• 本を読むのが好きです: “I like reading books.” (NOT *読みますのが好きです).
• 料理を作るのが得意です: “I'm good at cooking meals.”
• 朝早く起きるのが苦手です: “I struggle with waking up early in the morning.”
• 写真を撮るのが下手です: “I'm bad at taking photos.”

の vs こと: When Can You Use の?

Japanese has two primary nominalizers: の and こと. While both translate to “the act of doing,” they have distinct feelings:

• の — Sensory, Emotional, and Direct: It is the mandatory, natural choice for personal preferences (好き / 嫌い), direct sensory perceptions (seeing/hearing someone do something), and skills (上手 / 下手 / 得意 / 苦手).
• こと — Conceptual, Formal, and Abstract: It is required for fixed grammatical patterns like ことができる (can do) and ことがある (have had the experience).

For expressing likes, dislikes, and talents, native speakers overwhelmingly use の:

• Natural: 走るのが好きです
• Stiff/bookish: 走ることが好きです (Grammatically possible, but sounds formal and clinical).