Gustar and Verbs like Gustar”

The Verb gustar
By Jami Sipe
©2010 Teacher’s Discovery
Me gusta is often translated
as “I like.”
Ejemplos:
Me gusta la pizza. = (I like pizza.)
Me gusta el coche rojo. = (I like the red car.)
©2010 Teacher’s Discovery
Actually, the verb gustar does not
translate well into English.
Por ejemplo:
Me gusta el libro.
In English, we would say, “I like the book.”
but the meaning is really closer to
“I am pleased by the book,” or “The book
pleases me,” or “The book is pleasing to me.”
©2010 Teacher’s Discovery
Otro ejemplo:
Le gustan los panqueques. =
(He is pleased by the pancakes.)
In English, we would say:
He likes pancakes.
©2010 Teacher’s Discovery
The verb gustar is conjugated
to go with the thing you like,
which is actually
the subject of the sentence.
©2010 Teacher’s Discovery
Ejemplos:
Me gusta la manzana. =
(I like the apple.)
►
Me gustan las galletas. =
(I like cookies.)
©2010 Teacher’s Discovery
Gustar is almost always used with
indirect object pronouns.
Indirect Object Pronouns
Plural
Singular
me (me)
te (you, familiar)
nos (us)
os (you, ya’ll, you all
le (you, formal/him/her)
familiar - Spain)
les (you/them)
©2010 Teacher’s Discovery
To talk about likes and dislikes
with gustar …
Use this formula!
(indirect object pronoun)
+ form of gustar + what you like
©2010 Teacher’s Discovery
Ejemplos:
Me gusta la música. =
(I like music.)
Le gusta la música. =
(He/She likes music.)
(You (formal) like the music.)
Nos gusta la música. =
(We like music.)
©2010 Teacher’s Discovery
Remember,
the verb is conjugated to agree
with the subject of the sentence.
With gustar the subject is the
thing or things you like.
• Use gusta if the thing you like is singular.
Ejemplo: Me gusta el libro. = (I like the book.)
• Use gustan if the things you like are plural.
Ejemplo: Me gustan los tacos. = (I like tacos.)
©2010 Teacher’s Discovery
Ejemplos:
Singular
• Me gusta la casa. = (I like the house.)
• Te gusta el cuarto. = (You [familiar] like the room.)
• Le gusta la silla. = (He/She likes the chair./You
[formal] like the chair.)
• Nos gusta el hotel. = (We like the hotel.)
• ¿Os gusta la comida? = (Do you all [familiar] like
the meal?)
• Les gusta el reloj. = (You all like the clock./They
like the clock.)
©2010 Teacher’s Discovery
Plural
Más ejemplos:
• Me gustan las casas. = (I like the houses.)
• Te gustan los cuartos. = (You [familiar] like the rooms.)
• Le gustan las sillas. = (He/She likes the chairs./You
[formal] like the chairs.)
• Nos gustan los hoteles. = (We like the hotels.)
• Os gustan las comidas. = (You all [familiar] like the
meals.)
• Les gustan los relojes. = (You all like the clocks./They
all like the clocks.)
©2010 Teacher’s Discovery
You can also use gustar
with an infinitive!
Ejemplos:
Me gusta nadar. = (I like to swim.)
Te gusta correr. = (You like to run.)
Nos gusta leer. = (We like to read.)
©2010 Teacher’s Discovery
To say someone does not like something,
or does not like to do something
use “no” before the phrase.
Ejemplos:
No me gusta el pescado. =
(I don’t like fish.)
No me gusta patinar. =
(I do not like to skate.)
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¡OJO!
Look closely at this example:
Le gusta la silla.
It is impossible to tell whether this means:
1. He likes the chair.
2. She likes the chair.
3. You [formal] like the chair.
©2010 Teacher’s Discovery
For purpose of clarification
The sentence may begin with a clarifying
prepositional phrase:
• A él le gusta la silla.
• A ella le gusta la casa.
• A usted le gusta la bandera.
©2010 Teacher’s Discovery
When you want to emphasize or identify
the person you are talking about, use:
name:
A+
example
– A Ana le gusta bailar. =
(Ana likes to dance.)
noun: example – Al doctor le gusta trabajar. =
(The doctor likes to work.)
pronoun: example – A nosotros nos gusta estudiar. =
(We like to study.)
a mí – me gusta
a ti – te gusta
a usted, él, ella – le gusta
These
pronouns
follow a:
a nosotros/as – nos gusta
a vosotros/as – os gusta
a ustedes, ellos/as – les gusta
©2010 Teacher’s Discovery
Check Your Knowledge!
I like to read.
We like Spanish.
She likes the book.
He likes to dance.
They don’t like the flowers.
You (familiar) like the shoes.
We like to run.
You (formal) do not like
desserts.
Me gusta leer.
Nos gusta el español.
(A ella) le gusta el libro.
(A él) le gusta bailar.
No les gustan las flores.
(A ti) te gustan los zapatos.
(A nosotros) nos gusta correr.
(A usted) no le gustan los
postres.
©2010 Teacher’s Discovery