Practice Makes Perfect Spanish Verb Tenses, Second ... - Ktooba.com

Verbs like gustar ·11·
Th ere are several verbs in Spanish (and in English as well) that are commonly used
only in the third-person singular or plural, together with an indirect object pronoun.
Th e most common of these verbs is gustar (“to be pleasing to”).
While in English one says, “I like the cat” (“I” subject and “the cat”
direct object), in Spanish you say, literally, “Th e cat is pleasing to me” (“Th e cat”
subject and “me” indirect object).
Th e key to the verbs in this section is remembering that they are typically
seen only in their third-person singular and plural forms. Th e subjects of these
verbs (the things being discussed) have an eff ect on people—“frogs fascinate me,”
“noise bothers you,” “recipes for chili interest him”—rather than people having an
eff ect on them.
To work with these verbs, follow this pattern.
indirect object pronoun third-person verb noun(s)
Singular subject
Me gusta el gato. I like the cat.
No te gusta el libro. You don’t like the book.
Le gusta la casa. He likes the house.
No nos gusta el perro. We don’t like the dog.
Os gusta la luz. You all like the light.
Les gusta la revista. Th ey like the magazine.
Plural subject
Me gustan los gatos. I like the cats.
No te gustan los libros. You don’t like the books.
Le gustan las casas. He likes the houses.
No nos gustan los perros. We don’t like the dogs.
Os gustan las luces. You all like the lights.
Les gustan las revistas. Th ey like the magazines.
When mentioning the name of a person (or persons), place the name (or pronoun)
between the preposition a and the indirect pronoun. Th is adds clarity and
emphasis.
A Juan le gusta bailar. John likes to dance.
A los chicos les gusta hablar. Th e boys like to talk.
A ella le encanta el café. She loves coff ee.
A ellos no les falta nada. Th ey don’t need anything.
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