のが好き・
To say someone likes doing something, or is good or bad at it, the verb takes の and then が. の turns "swim" into "swimming".
I like listening to music.
My older brother is good at teaching people how to cook.
My younger brother is bad at taking photographs.
How to form it
Plain-form verb + のが + 好き／上手／下手
Who it is about comes first, with は. The verb stays plain in a polite sentence: 泳ぐのが好きです.
A thing, or doing something
I like movies.
A thing: the noun goes straight before が.
I like watching movies.
Doing something: the verb takes の, then が.
好き, 上手 and 下手 are な-adjectives, not verbs, so what they describe takes が. A verb can't stand in front of that が by itself.
Not said: 映画を
(I like watching movies.)
Nothing inside changes: 映画を keeps its を.
こと can take the place of の: 見ることが好きです. It is a little stiffer and suits writing.
Liking
I like reading books in Japanese.
My mother likes growing vegetables.
What do you like doing on your days off?
In a "no" answer, or when you set one thing against another, のが often becomes のは.
Do you like swimming?
No, I don't like swimming very much.
I like cooking, but I hate washing the dishes.
Good at, bad at
Tanaka is good at drawing.
My older sister is not good at playing the piano.
上手 is praise for someone else. About your own skill it sounds like boasting. For your own strong and weak points people say 得意 and 苦手; 下手 about yourself is fine too.
I'm not good at getting up early.
When I was a child, I was bad at speaking in front of people.
When someone praises you, a modest reply is the usual one.
You're good at making cakes.
No, I still have a long way to go.
Said to a teacher or a boss, 上手ですね can sound as if you were grading them.
The same shape with other words
のが嫌いdislike doing, hate doing
My younger brother hates waiting.
のが得意・苦手strong at, weak at doing
My older sister is good at remembering people's names.
のが速い・遅いdo it fast, do it slowly
My older brother is a fast runner.
English says "a fast runner". Japanese says his running is fast.
Close neighbours
が好き・が上手N5
The same が after a noun, and the other words that take it: わかる, ほしい, できる.
My older sister is good at tennis.
の・ことN5
の and こと make a verb into a noun in other sentences too: forgetting to do something, seeing something happen.
I forgot to take my medicine.
のN5
After an adjective, の stands for a thing, not for doing something: "the red one".
I like the red one.
Check yourself
1"I like walking in the park."
公園を
Choose an answer to see why.
2You are telling a new classmate about yourself. Which sounds natural?
Choose an answer to see why.
More sentences
My younger sister eats slowly.
I like speaking Japanese, but I'm not good at writing it.