Slang: I'm loving it

In your English study, you probably learned about 'action' verbs (like work, eat, run, do) and 'state' verbs (like be, know, love, believe).

You probably also learned that 'state' verbs do not usually use an -ing form.

"I was knowing John for two years." X

"He is believing in God." X

"I am liking coffee. X

These sentences are incorrect. You should say, 'I knew John for two years', 'He believes in God' and 'I like coffee'.

However, sometimes we do use -ing state verbs in a slang way, especially verbs of like or dislike. It's to express our state in a more 'dynamic' or lively way.

"I'm really liking what I'm hearing."

"You can see he's really hating this song."

McDonald's has a famous slogan, 'I'm lovin' it'.

Be careful though. This language makes the like or dislike into a temporary action. Use it for short-term things. If you always love cake, don't say 'I'm loving cake'.

If you're eating a particular cake which tastes good, you can say 'I'm loving this cake'.
If you didn't eat much cake before, but you suddenly started enjoying it, you can say 'I'm loving cake at the moment'. Here, 'at the moment' means 'these days'.

These examples are not 'good' or correct English, but are quite common in casual speech, especially with younger people.

How about you? Is there a TV show you're loving at the moment? Is there a particular food or product you're liking?