INDIRECT OBJECT PRONOUNS

&THE VERB “GUSTAR”

Spanish I

“Gustar” To like

I like pizza

You like pizza

He/She likes pizza

We like pizza

You all/They like pizza

How to conjugate

Gustar only has 1 conjugated form for all of the subjects.

Gusta (singular object) apple

Gustan (plural object) apples

Why don’t we conjugate?

Gustar doesnt really mean “to like” It means “to be pleasing to”

I like the book The book is pleasing to me

Let’s practice

I like football. Football is pleasing to me.

Sarah like movies. Movies are pleasing to Sarah.

We like music. Music is pleasing to us.

What does this have to do with conjugating? Find the subject & thing being liked:

I like football I / football

Sarah likes movies. Sarah / movies

We like music We / music

Now the Spanish way…

Find the subject …

Football is pleasing to me. Football

Movies are pleasing to Sarah. Movies

Music is pleasing to us. Music

What is the object then?

Football is pleasing to me. Football / me (Indirect Object Pronoun)

Movies are pleasing to her. Movies / her (Indirect Object Pronoun)

Music is pleasing to us. Music / us (Indirect Object Pronoun)

How it is…

THEREFORE ….

With “gustar” we cannot use Subject Pronouns

Instead, we use Indirect Object Pronouns

What is an Indirect Object Pronoun? IOPs Answer the question “To Whom?”

Football is pleasing to me. me

Movies are pleasing to her. her

Music is pleasing to us. us

IOPs in Spanish

Me (Yo)

Te (Tú)

Le (Ud./Él/Ella)

Nos (Nosotros)

Les (Uds./Ellos/Ellas)

IOPs go before gusta(n) Me gusta la pizza. Pizza is pleasing to me.

Te gusta la pizza. Pizza is pleasing to you (informal).

Le gusta la pizza. Pizza is pleasing to you(formal)/he/she(her)

Nos gusta la pizza. Pizza is pleasing to us.

Les gusta la pizza. Pizza is pleasing to you all/ they (mix)/ they (all female)

You try

I like books. (los libros)

She likes ice-cream. (el helado)

They like chess. (el ajedrez)

We like hamburgers. (las hamburguesas)

Do you (informal) like fruit? (las frutas)

Respuestas …

Me gustan los libros. Le gusta el helado. Les gusta el ajedrez. Nos gustan las hamburguesas. ?Te gusta la fruta?

Rules …

Don’t ever use subject pronouns (Yo, Tú, Ud., El, etc.)

Use Indirect Object Pronouns (Me, Te, Le, Nos, Les)

Put the IOP first, and then gusta(n)

Use gusta if the thing being liked is singular

Use gustan if the thing being likes is plural

(NO) + IOP + GUSTA(N) + NOUN

FORMULA

I don’t like the pizza

If you want to say that you or someone doesn’t like the noun, put the word “No” before the IOP.

No me gusta la pizza. No te gusta la pizza. No le gusta la pizza. No nos gusta la pizza. No les gusta la pizza.

If you like to do something .. If you like to do something, instead of a

noun, use the infinitive.

Me gusta bailar. Te gusta nadar. Le gusta trabajar. Nos gusta estudiar. Les gusta organizar.

To emphasize/clarify use “A WHO” (A mí)

(A ti)

(A usted) (A él) (A ella)

(A nosotros) (A nosotras)

(A ustedes) (A ellos) (A ellas)

A WHO + (NO) + IOP + GUSTA(N) + NOUN/INFINITVE

FORMULA

In-class assignment

A who + (no) + IOP + gusta(n) + noun

1. A mi no las verduras 2. A ti la música de Jay-

Z 3. A usted los libros 4. A él no la comida china 5. A ella las frutas 6. A nosotros no estudiar 7. A ustedes las fiestas 8. A ellos no los animales 9. A ellas los carros