2.4: El verbo "gustar"
- Page ID
- 460120
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Observations
- In the expression: "El gusto es mío", the noun "gusto" means "pleasure".
- As a verb, "gustar" means "to please" or "to be pleasing (to someone)".
- Spanish does not have a verb that directly means "to like". The closest verb for expressing likes and dislikes is the verb "gustar".
- Since "gustar" means "to please", a sentence in Spanish using a direct "subject-verb" conjugation like in English would be:
English | Spanish | |
---|---|---|
I like Spanish. | ![]() |
Yo gusto español. |
![]() |
||
I please Spanish. | ||
![]() |
||
As you can see, this sentence is incorrect. |
To express likes in Spanish using "gustar", we will have to invert the subject pronoun and the direct object:
- The "someone" doing the action of liking is now receiving the action of being pleased.
- The "something" being liked is now doing the action of pleasing.
- The following chart shows the change of the "someone" as subject pronoun (crossed out) to "someone" as the receiver of the action (indirect object pronoun=IOP).
- The clarifier is the indirect object (IO). It clarifies who the IOP refers to.
(In the chart below, all words in blue reflect the replacement of the normal subject pronouns that are now the IOP and the clarifier (IO)).
subject pronoun | IOP | clarifier | subject pronoun | IOP | clarifier |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
→ me | = a mí | → nos | = a nosotros/as | ||
→ te | = a ti | → os | = a vosotros/as | ||
→ le | = a usted | → les | = a ustedes | ||
→ le | = a él | → les | = a ellos | ||
→ le | = a ella | → les | = a ellas |
- The indirect object nouns (a + prepositional pronoun/noun) are added to emphasize or clarify who it is pleasing to.
- You will only use the verb "gustar" in the 3rd person singular or plural: "gusta" or "gustan".
Six key things that are different with the verb "gustar"
- It always uses an indirect object pronoun.
- It may also use and IO as clarifier: "a + name or prepositional pronoun or noun".
- The clarifier goes in front of the sentence.
- It only has two conjugations: "gusta" for actions (verbs in the infinitive -whether there is one or more than one verb) or for a singular noun; or "gustan" for plural nouns.
- It is conjugated based on what comes after it.
- If it is followed by a noun, it must include the definite article. If it is followed by a verb, the verb is not conjugated (infinitive) and the definite article is not used.
Complete conjugation
(In the chart below, all words in blue are used in sentences with the verb "gustar" in replacement of the normal subject pronouns.)
With verbs:
clarifier | IOP | verb | subject pronoun (verb) | clarifier | IOP | verb | subject pronoun (verb) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A mí | me | gusta | estudiar español. | A nosotros, a nosotras | nos | gusta | estudiar español. |
A ti | te | gusta | estudiar español. | A vosotros, a vosotras | os | gusta | estudiar español. |
A usted | le | gusta | estudiar español. | A ustedes | les | gusta | estudiar español. |
A él | le | gusta | estudiar español. | A ellos | les | gusta | estudiar español. |
A ella | le | gusta | estudiar español. | A ellas | les | gusta | estudiar español. |
With singular nouns:
clarifier | IOP | verb | subject pronoun (sing. noun) | clarifier | IOP | verb | subject pronoun (sing. noun) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A mí | me | gusta | la clase de español. | A nosotros, a nosotras | nos | gusta | la clase de español. |
A ti | te | gusta | la clase de español. | A vosotros, a vosotras | os | gusta | la clase de español. |
A usted | le | gusta | la clase de español. | A ustedes | les | gusta | la clase de español. |
A él | le | gusta | la clase de español. | A ellos | les | gusta | la clase de español. |
A ella | le | gusta | la clase de español. | A ellas | les | gusta | la clase de español. |
With plural nouns:
clarifier | IOP | verb | subject pronoun (pl. noun) | clarifier | IOP | verb | subject pronoun (pl. noun) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A mí | me | gustan | los idiomas. | A nosotros, a nosotras | nos | gustan | los idiomas. |
A ti | te | gustan | los idiomas. | A vosotros, a vosotras | os | gustan | los idiomas. |
A usted | le | gustan | los idiomas. | A ustedes | les | gustan | los idiomas. |
A él | le | gustan | los idiomas. | A ellos | les | gustan | los idiomas. |
A ella | le | gustan | los idiomas. | A ellas | les | gustan | los idiomas. |
To express dislike, simply place the "no" directly in front of the IOP:
clarifier | no | IOP | verb | subject pronoun | clarifier | no | IOP | verb | subject pronoun |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A Elsa | no | le | gusta | la música clásica. | A ellos | no | les | gusta | la música Reggaetón. |
A ti | no | te | gusta | cenar tarde. | A nosotros | no | nos | gusta | cantar. |
A mí | no | me | gustan | las matemáticas. | A vosotros | no | os | gustan | los problemas. |
When expressing that you like something very much, the word "mucho" is always placed directly after the verb "gustar":
clarifier | IOP | verb | subject pronoun | clarifier | IOP | verb | subject pronoun |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A Tito | le | gusta | mucho la fruta. | A nosotros | nos | gusta | mucho la fruta. |
A mí | me | gusta | mucho viajar. | A las chicas | les | gusta | mucho viajar. |
A usted | le | gustan | mucho los chocolates. | A ustedes | les | gustan | mucho los chocolates. |