スケートの方が好きです。

skate; skates; skating

indicates possessive; nominalizes verbs and adjectives; substitutes for "ga" in subordinate phrases; (at sentence-end, falling tone) indicates a confident conclusion; (at sentence-end) indicates emotional emphasis; (at sentence-end, rising tone) indicates question

direction; way; person; lady; gentleman; method of; manner of; way of; care of ..; person in charge of ..; side (e.g. "on my mother's side")

indicates sentence subject (occasionally object); indicates possessive (esp. in literary expressions); but; however; still; and

liking; fondness; love

be; is