Gustar and similar type verbs
Gustar, which means "something is pleasing to someone", is different than regular verbs.
Gustar functions a little differently. With Gustar,the subject is the thing or person that is
pleasing to you. In other words, we say
The book is pleasing to me:
Me gusta el libro.
Me (to me) gusta (is pleasing) el libro (The book).
•
Remember this is not a direct translation. Gustar requires an indirect object pronoun which indicates "to whom" the subject is pleasing:
Me
Te
Le
Nos
Os
Les
(a
mí)
(a
ti)
(a él, a ella, a
usted)
(a nosotros)
(a vosotros)
(a ellos/as, a ustedes)
Gustar sentences will always have three components:
#1: an indirect object
pronoun
#2: A form of Gustar
#3: An infinitive or a subject with
a definite article
Me
gusta
hablar
Nos
gusta
la música
Te
gustan
Los postres
For now think of Gustar verbs as having only two conjugations, the 3rd person singular and plural
(gusta and gustan)
*If the subject (what is pleasing) is singular, Gustar is conjugated in the 3rd person singular form (gusta)
*If what is pleasing is plural, (for example, shoes or the Italian shoes) then Gustar is conjugated in the 3rd
person PLURAL form (gustan)
*If doing something(an action) is what is pleasing Gustar is conjugated in the 3rd person singular form
(gusta). Remember, infinitives are always singular, no matter how many you list!
Ambiguity with Le and Les
If you use me, te, nos, or os as your indirect object pronoun, the meaning of the sentence should be quite clear.
However, if you use le or les, it's not readily apparent who you're talking about. For instance, how would you
translate these sentences?
Le gusta leer.
Le gustan las películas.
The first sentence could be translated "He likes books," "She likes books," or even "You (Ud.) like books." To clear
up any confusion, Spanish speakers will often add some context to the sentence by adding a and a pronoun:
A él le gusta leer.
He likes to read.
(Reading is pleasing to him.)
A ella le gustan las películas.
She likes movies.
(Movies are pleasing to her.)
In a similar way, if you need to include someone's name in the sentence, you'll start with a followed by their name,
and you'll still use the indirect object pronoun:
A Pedro le gusta leer.
Pedro likes to read.
(Reading is pleasing to Pedro.)
A Juanita le gustan las películas.
Juanita likes movies.
(Movies are pleasing to Juanita.)
*The following verbs follow the same structure as gustar: encantar fascinar interesar aburrir dar miedo