ことConverting a verb into a noun

This phrase combines the nominalizer の with the な-Adjective 好き to express liking an activity (e.g., 本を読むのが好き = 'I like to read books'). の can be replaced with こと, another nominalizer. The difference is subtle: の implies a concrete or tangible action, while こと is more abstract (e.g., 本を読むことが好き implies liking the 'act of reading').

These related expressions both use the noun こと, or 事 in kanji. On its own, こと turns a verb or adjective into a noun phrase, e.g. 食べる 'to eat' becomes 食べること 'the act of eating'. When combined with the explanatory/emphatic なの, it conveys meaning or definition, e.g. 'It means that (A)' or '(A) is how it is.'

Both こと and の turn verbs or adjectives into noun phrases. こと is used for intangible or conceptual ideas, while の is used for more tangible or physical concepts. For example, 走るのが好きです and 走ることが好きです both mean 'I like running,' with の feeling more physical and こと more conceptual. However, they aren't interchangeable in set phrases like ことができる or ことがある.

こと attaches to the dictionary form of verbs to turn them into nouns, e.g. 行くこと '(the act of) going'. ということ has a similar function, but adds the quoting phrase という, so it's often used to clarify information or reported speech, e.g. 日本に行くということ 'the fact that (he) is going to Japan'.