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Gustar
To be pleasing
(to like)
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Gustar, means "something is pleasing
to me.“ It is different than the other
verbs we have learned so far. Many
Spanish verbs work just like English
verbs in a straight forward "SubjectVerb" manner.
Gustar
Works
backwards
For example, let's look at the
verb Tener,"to have".
To say, "I have my book", we follow the same
word order we just used in English "Yo tengo
mi libro."
Yo is the subject that controls the verb, tengo,
and mi libro is the direct object [what I have].
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But Gustar doesn't work this way.
We cannot say *Yo gusto mi libro. 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).
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It may seem confusing because the
subject, mi libro, comes after the verb.
Do not let the word order influence you!
Think of it this way: it is the responsiblility
of other things and people to please you
rather than for you to go out actively liking
things!
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Let's look at another example using
Gustar: "I like horseback riding."
We need to say: Me gusta montar a
caballo.
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Remember this is not a direct translation.
When I say, Me gusta montar a
caballo, I'm really saying "Horseback
riding is pleasing to me".
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Me is an Indirect Object Pronoun referring to myself - I
am whom is being pleased; Montar a Caballo is the
real Subject - it is what is pleasing me. Gusta is the
active verb and is singular because horseback riding is a
concept or an action - at any rate, Montar is an
infinitive and infinitives are ALWAYS SINGULAR.
Gustar requires an indirect object pronoun which
indicates "to whom" the subject is pleasing:
Me(a mí)
Te(a ti)
Le(a él, a ella, a usted)
Nos(a nosotros)
Os(a vosotros)
Les(a ellos/as, a ustedes)
Gustar sentences will always have
three components:
#1:
an indirect
object pronoun
#2:
A form of Gustar
#3:
A subject
with a definite
article
Me
gusta
el café
Nos
gusta
la música
If the subject (what is pleasing) is SINGULAR or
an INFINITIVE, Gustar is conjugated in the 3rd
person singular form (the él, ella, usted form):
(a mí) me gusta
(a nosotros) nos gusta
(a ti) te gusta
(a vosotros) os gusta
(a él, le gusta
(a ellos/as, les gusta
Ella,
ustedes)
Usted)
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Example:
A él le gusta la pizza
A ella le gusta comer las hamburguesas
If what is pleasing is plural, (for example,
grapes) then Gustar is conjugated in the 3rd
person PLURAL form (Ellos, ellas, ustedes form):
(a mí) me gustan (a nosotros) nos gustan
(a ti) te gustan
(a vosotros) os gustan
(a él, le gustan
(a ellos/as, les gustan
Ella,
ustedes)
Usted)
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Example:
A mí me gustan las uvas.
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For now think of Gustar verbs as having only
two conjugations, the 3rd person singular and
plural (gusta and gustan)
Avoid the error of *Me gusto - At best this
implies you are physically appealing to
yourself which is probably not what you
mean to say (at worst it is TMI.)
Practicamos
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