Apuntes #22GUSTAR y

verbos similares

In Spanish, there is no exact equivalent to the English verb “_______”. The nearest in

meaning is the verb _________, which literally translated into English is

“________________________________” .

to likegusta

rto be pleasing / to please

Many Spanish verbs work just like English verbs in a straightforward "subject-verb” manner.

However, gustar does not follow that pattern. It has a “____________” verb construction. Its

forms do not depend on _______ does the liking, but instead on _________ is liked/pleasing.

backward who

what

Gustar is preceded by an _________ object pronoun indicating ______ is pleased.

It is followed by a noun (the _________) indicating the _______ that pleases.

This may seem confusing, but do not let the word order influence you! Think of it this way: it is the responsibility of other things and people to please you rather than for

you to go out actively liking things!

indirectwh

o subjectthing

Ejemplos… IOP SubjectMe gusta la película.

I like the movie. (literally: The movie pleases me.)

¿Te gustan los conciertos de rock?Do you like rock concerts? (literally: Do rock concerts please you?)

GUSTAREmphasis… IOP “to like”

“I like”

A mí me gusta(n)

“you (familiar) like”

A ti te gusta(n)

“you (formal) like”; he/she likes

A… le gusta(n)

GUSTAREmphasis… IOP “to like”

“we like”

A… nos gusta(n)

“y’all like”

A… os gusta(n)

“you all (formal) like”; they like

A… les gusta(n)

Because the thing that pleases is the _________, gustar agrees in _________ with it.

Since the subject of the sentence must be either singular or plural, the only forms of gustar you will use are "________" and "___________."

This is true regardless of what IO pronoun appears in the sentence.

subjectnumb

er

gusta

gustan

Ejemplos…

We (m.) like Cristian Castro’s music.

They (f.) like their new house.

I like quesadillas.

Do you (fam.) like romantic movies?

Nos gusta la música de Cristian Castro.

Les gusta su casa nueva.

Me gustan las quesadillas.

¿Te gustan las películas románticas?

For purposes of clarification, gustar sentences will often begin with a

_________________________ that clarifies just who the IO pronoun refers to: ______ + _______/__________

oBy adding a prepositional phrase, you remove the ambiguity of the "le" form. oYou can also use a prepositional phrase to add emphasis, even if there is no ambiguity.

Ejemplos: A Juan le gusta el café. A mí me gusta el té. John likes coffee. I like tea.

prepositional phrase

a noun pronoun

In the first example, "A Juan" clarifies the ambiguous pronoun "le." In the second example, there is no ambiguity. "Me gusta el té" can only mean "I like tea." In this case, "A mí" adds emphasis,

drawing attention to the fact that tea is what I like (as contrasted with what Juan likes).

Ejemplos…

I like chocolate, and you (fam.)?

Charles likes antique paintings.

A mí me gusta el chocolate, y ¿a ti?

A Carlos le gustan las pinturas antiguas.

¡Ojo! Mí (to ________) has an accent mark to distinguish it from the possessive

adjective mi (________).

me

my

Ejemplos…

You all (fam.) don’t like to arrive late.

They (m.) like to sing and dance.

(A vosotros) No os gusta llegar tarde.

A ellos les gusta cantar y bailar.

When gustar is followed by one or more verbs in the infinitive, the ______________

form of gustar is always used.singular

Gustar is not the only backward verb. Here is a list of verbs that operate in the same manner:

to bore to fascinate; to captivate; to like very much

to feel like; to fancy/crave for

to be important to; to matter

to get along well/badly withto make a good/bad impression

to be interesting to; to interest

to dislike/hate something; to upset; to displease

to bother; to annoy

to hurt; to feel pain[o:ue]

to itch

to like very much; to adoreto love (inanimate objects)

to be left over; to remainto fit clothing

to be missing/lacking (something);

aburrirapetecer caer

bien/maldisgusta

r doler

encantar

faltar

fascinarimportarinteresarmolestar picar

quedar

Ejemplos…

You (fam.) love horror movies.

We are not interested in that old novel.

They (m.) like (very much, fascinate) to go to the movies.

My head hurts.

(A ti) Te encantan las películas de horror.

(A nosotros) No nos interesa esa novela vieja.

A ellos les fascina ir al cine.

(A mí) Me duele la cabeza.