Gustar & Company

You’ve heard and probably used “me gusta” for a long time. Maybe you’ve even used “me gustan” and used it correctly. But here you’re going to get the reason. Me gusta el gato.--I like the cat. Me gustan los gatos. --I like the cats. Te gusta el perro.--You like the dog. Te gustan los perros. --You like the dogs. When the thing you like is singular, you use “gusta.” When the thing you like is plural, you use “gustan.”

The reason for “gusta” and “gustan” is that you’re not literally saying, “I like the cat.” What you’re literally saying is “The cat is pleasing to me.” Me gusta el gato. The cat is pleasing to me. (Good English) I like the cat. So the thing you like is actually the subject of the sentence...

... and the person doing the liking is actually the object. The INDIRECT object. Me gusta el gato.I like the cat. Te gusta el gato.You like the cat. Le gusta el gato.He/She likes the cat. Nos gusta el gato.We like the cat. Os gusta el gato.Y’all like the cat. Les gusta el gato.They like the cat. Note that the verb doesn’t change at all. The only thing that can make the verb change is the thing that’s being liked: Le gusta el gato. – He/She likes the cat. Le gustan los gatos. -- He/She likes the cats.

Click here to go to a brief practice exercise.here

OK, think you have “gustar” nailed down? That’s good, because we have some similar verbs. “Encantar” is easy, because it means “love”: Me gusta la vainilla, I like vanilla, pero me encanta el chocolate. but I love chocolate. “Encantar” actually means “to enchant”: El chocolate me encanta. Chocolate enchants me. (Good English) I love chocolate. So “encantar” works exactly like “gustar.” Note: “Encantar” is usually used with things. To love a person is “querer” or “amar.” “Te quiero” or “Te amo” for “I love you.”

There are a few other verbs that work that way, where what’s the subject in English is the object in Spanish and what’s the object in English is the subject in Spanish. Nos quedan dos semanas. Literally, two weeks remain to us. What’s the good English translation for the above sentence? We have two weeks left. What would “we have one week left” be? Nos queda una semana. You have to use “queda” because “semana” is singular. How would you say, “I have one week left”? Me queda una semana.

Now look at this one: Me falta un dólar. Literally, One dollar is lacking to me. What would that be in good English? I’m short one dollar. How would you say, “I’m short two dollars”? Me faltan dos dólares. You have to say “faltan” because “dólares” is plural, and what you’re literally saying is “two dollars ARE lacking to me.” How would you say, “He’s short two dollars”? Le faltan dos dólares. Get it?

The long and short of it is that with these four verbs—gustar, encantar, quedar, and faltar— what’s the subject in English is the object in Spanish and vice versa. You have to remember to make the verb agree with the thing being liked or loved, or the thing that the person has left, or the thing that the person is short.

Click here to go to a brief practice exercise.here Click here to go to your homework.here