Question Paul and I love dogs a lot/very much

Dear native English speakers,

I've got a new teaching job in Osaka. It's the hardest job I've ever had. There are some students in almost every class who keep talking to their friends in class and never try to listen to me. (Please correct my English if needed.)

By the way, I have a question.

Which sentences would be used by native speakers?
(a) Paul and I like dogs very much.
(b) Paul and I like dogs a lot.
(c) Paul and I love dogs very much.
(d) Paul and I love dogs a lot.
(e) Paul and I really like dogs.
(f) Paul and I really love dogs.

Do they all have almost the same meaning? Can they be used interchangeably?

Hirashin

Yeah, they would.

I wouldn't say they're interchangeable, but they're mostly the same. The difference is in magnitude: (c) and (a) in particular are much more strong than the others, and "love" is a bit stronger than "like" in all cases. In fact (c) is so strong that it gives the impression that dogs (dogs in general, it should be noted, not just your own pets) are like family to you.

Hirashin!

If a student is talking to his friends in class, yell at him VERY LOUDLY, to his face. If that doesn't work, throw him out of the class!

Thank you for the help, Julie.
Thanks for the advice, Buntaro. So far I have thrown two students out of the class. But yesterday one girl didn't go out of the class though I told her loudly to get out. I'm not good at treating this kind of girl.

I'm not good at treating this kind of girl.

Click to expand...

"Treating" is incorrect here. "Treating", in a way that makes sense in this context, would refer to what a physician would do for a patient.

I think you mean "dealing with", given the surrounding context.

Julie.chan said:

"Treating" is incorrect here. "Treating", in a way that makes sense in this context, would refer to what a physician would do for a patient.

I think you mean "dealing with", given the surrounding context.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the correction, Julie.

How about this? Does this also sound unnatural?
I don't like being treated that way.

No, that's perfectly fine. But the "that way" portion is required. Other examples, bolding similar key words:

"I don't know how to treat her."
"He doesn't treat me well."
"You're treating me very poorly."

Also, and this is important, this kind of expression always refers to whether or not someone is nice to someone else; it's never used for any other aspects. So it wasn't the word to use in your original sentence anyway. Had your grammar been correct the first time, it would have sounded as if you feel like you've wronged the student in some way.

Consider the following, which is a correction of the wording in your sentence without regard to context:

"I don't know how to treat girls like this."

This is a question about what you should do for the sake of her feelings. You would use this if you feel as if you are upsetting someone you care about. But what were actually trying to say is that you don't know how to stop the person from misbehaving. So in the context of what you mean to say, you should instead say:

"I don't know how to deal with girls like this."

"Deal with" has more of a connotation of treating the person or situation being talked about as an obstacle or problem, which is most appropriate for this context.

Thanks for the further explanations.
I still don't understand.

Can't you say, "I don't know how to treat girls like this", either?

Yes, you can, but it has a different connotation, as I explained. That sentence refers to what you should do for their sake, not for your sake or the sake of your classroom (which, so far as I can tell, is what you actually meant).

Consider the word "mistreat". "Treat", in that sense, is the opposite of that. I might say that I'm being mistreated if my boss unfairly changes my schedule after already sending it out without also informing me of the change. Conversely, if my boss is very nice, always listens to my concerns, and is fair with me, I might say that they treat me well.

But I would not say that I'm being "mistreated" if my boss lets me do whatever I want without consequences. In fact, if I'm bad enough, you could argue that my coworkers in this situation are being mistreated (if e.g. they're complaining about me bullying them and said boss is doing nothing).

So think of the inverse of that:

If you were talking about a student that you're constantly upsetting and you can't figure out how to make her feel better, you might say, "I don't know how to treat girls like this." In such a situation, you're saying that you feel bad for how she feels, but you just don't know how you can do better for her sake.

But if, instead, you're talking about a student who is disruptive and out of control, you don't wonder what to do about her feelings for her own sake; you wonder what to do about her behavior for others' sake. So you would say something like one of these:

"I don't know how to deal with girls like this."
"I don't know how to handle this sort of situation."
"I don't know what to do about girls like this."

Does that make sense?

hirashin said:

Thanks for the further explanations.
I still don't understand.

Can't you say, "I don't know how to treat girls like this", either?

Click to expand...

Treating someone/something can mean many things in different situations:

1) When a doctor treats a patient, it means that the doctor is providing some health care or a treatment to his/her patient.
i.e., He treated her lung infection with some antibiotics.

2) To treat a boy/girl + (adverb) means you are showing them a level of respect.
i.e., I treat him poorly.
I treat her wholeheartedly.

3) To treat someone could also mean to reward/provide (usually free)/gift someone something.
i.e., He treated her to an all-you-can-eat buffet.

Also, some correct statements for your question would be: "I don't know how to handle girls like her."/"I don't know how to handle her type."
Your sentence could means that you don't know how to treat girls the same way as the person you are talking to.

Hope this help.

Thanks for the help, Julie and John. Your comments are a little bit difficult for me to understand, I'll read them again and again when I have time.