“We enjoyed.” “I enjoyed to visit France.” “I enjoyed from the concert.” What’s wrong with these sentences? Learn how to use the verb “enjoy” correctly in English with this grammar lesson. Although it’s a common verb, many learners make mistakes with “enjoy”! I’ll teach you four simple but important rules that will help you use “enjoy” correctly:

1. Always use an object after "enjoy":
Correct: I enjoyed it.
Incorrect: I enjoyed.

2. Use a gerund after "enjoy" when followed by another verb
Correct: I enjoy reading.
Incorrect: I enjoy to read.

3. Use a reflexive pronoun after "enjoy" when describing events or experiences
Correct: We enjoyed ourselves at the party.
Incorrect: We enjoyed at the party.

4. Do not use a preposition after "enjoy"
Correct: I enjoyed the concert.
Incorrect: I enjoyed of the concert.

We’ll go through clear examples together, and then you will test yourself to make sure you’ve understood. Watch the lesson, practice with the quiz, and enjoy improving your English! https://www.engvid.com/are-you-using-enjoy-correctly-in-english/

Fix even more common English mistakes! Take my course, Correct Your English Errors in 10 Minutes a Day: https://10.bexenglish.com

In this lesson:
0:00 Are you making these mistakes with "enjoy"?
0:47 enjoy + object
3:37 enjoy + gerund
5:12 enjoy + reflexive pronoun
6:37 enjoy + no preposition
8:04 Review
8:37 Test

TRANSCRIPT:

In today's lesson, you will learn the proper way to use the verb "enjoy" in English. Now, that seems like a very simple verb, right? We use it every day. I enjoy this and I enjoy that, but unfortunately, this verb also causes lots of problems when people actually use it in sentences and questions. So let's look at what some of those problems are, let's check if those problems apply to you, and let's solve any difficulties or questions or doubts that you might have regarding how to use this very common and fun word, "enjoy". Okay? And let's enjoy the lesson.

All right. So let's get started here. So what we're going to do first is we're going to find out if you have any of these issues when you're using this verb "enjoy". So first we're going to do a little quiz, and then I'll explain the principle or the rule that applies there. Okay? So let's start with these two sentences. So let's suppose somebody asks you, "Did you enjoy the party?" So you might reply, "Yes, I enjoyed" or "Yes, I enjoyed it." So think for a second, which one of these is correct, or are both of them correct? What's the answer? Do you know? And do you know for sure? Okay?

So let me tell you. This one is correct, and the first one is wrong. We should only be saying, "Yes, I enjoyed it." Why? So, the reason is this. The verb "enjoy" needs to have an object. So what do we mean by an object? Let's understand. Let's analyze this sentence. Okay?

"I enjoyed it." In this sentence, "I" is what? "I" is the subject, right? "Enjoyed" is the verb, and then "it" is the object. Okay? So, a subject does the action, the verb is the action, and the object receives the action. So, this verb "enjoy" has to have an object. We cannot have no object. And in this sentence, "Yes, I enjoyed", it's like there's something missing. I enjoyed what? You have to say. So, you can either say... If somebody asks you, "Did you enjoy the party?" You can say, "Yes, I enjoyed it", "it" meaning "the party", or "Yes, I enjoyed the party". You can always say, "Yes, I did", but if you use the verb "enjoy", you have to have an object always. Okay?

Let's give another example of that. If someone says, "Oh, did you enjoy the movies that I recommended to you?", "The movies", so then what would you say? "Yes, I enjoyed them", okay, "movies", "them", or you can say, "No, I didn't really enjoy them." Okay? So, you don't always have to say "yes". You can say "yes" or "no", but you have to have what? You have to have an object. Okay? Good.

Let's go to the next point, and the next little quiz first. So, is it correct to say in English, "I enjoy reading" or "I enjoy to read", or are both of them correct? Which is it? Okay?

So, the correct one is this, and this is wrong. Why? Let's understand. Because the verb "enjoy" also has another rule. It... If there is a verb after that, it has to be a gerund. So, what's a gerund? You must have heard that word. So, a gerund is just a verb with "ing". Okay? So, we cannot use an infinitive. "To read" is an infinitive. Okay? So, no "enjoy" plus "to read", no "enjoy" plus an infinitive, no. It's always... If there's a verb, it's always going to be what? A gerund. For example, "I enjoy reading." Let me ask you, what do you enjoy? You could say, "I enjoy swimming. I enjoy watching TV. I enjoy learning English." Okay? Or you could say, "I enjoy watching EngVid." And so on. But in all these cases, what did we do? We used the gerund. "Reading", "swimming", "watching", "learning". Right? So, that's what you have to use here. […]