1. Gustar, Encantar, and Fascinar

2. Definitions Gustar = to be pleasing / to like
Fascinar = to be very pleasing / to really like
Encantar = to be extremely pleasing/ to love (not to be confused with amar)

3. Subject Chart me nos te A él le A ella le A usted le A ellos les
A ellas les
A ustedes les
With all the verbs, you need to use this chart for your subject. If you want to say “he”, you will not use “él,” you will use “a él le.” It may seem redundant; it is used for clarification.

4. Conjugations Gustar conjugates only into gusta and gustan.
As you learn different tenses, this still applies.

5. Conjugations
In order to conjugate the verb, you must figure out what is being liked (gustar), what is being really liked (fascinar), or loved (encantar) Once you found the object, determine whether it is singular, plural, or an infinitive.
Gusta/fascina/encanta is used for singular objects and infinitives
Gustan/fascinan/encantanis used for plural objects

6. Examples He likes the dogs.
In Spanish, you have to think backwards: The dogs are pleasing to him.
First, you must go to the subject chart and find the phrase for “he.”
A él le
Now, figure out what is being liked.
He likes what?... The dogs : los perros
Dogs is plural, so you will use gustan. Think backwards. The object will always determine the singular or plural verb (using these special infinitives).
Put the phrases together, you get:
A él le gustan los perros.

7. A él le gustan los perros.
Use gustan because the object is plural.
“The dogs please” is what you are translating.
Use “a él” is used to make sure the reader knows who “le” is referring to in the sentence.
If you didn’t have “a él” it could be “she” or “you.” The really person who like the dogs is him. You insure that the reader is not confused or mistakes the subject.

8. Examples We love to sing in school. Nos encanta cantar en escuela.
Who is our subject?... We… nos
We love what?... To sing: cantar
Cantar is an infinitive, so you use the singular form of encantar: encanta
Nos encanta cantar en escuela.

9. Nos encanta cantar en escuela.
Use encanta because the object is singular.
“to sing is pleasing” is what you are translating.
Because with “nos” you can only refer back to “nosotros,” you don’t always have to use “a nos” to insure that the reader is not confused or mistakes the subject.

10. Practice They like the classes. You (s. fam.) love fruit.
She really likes to dance.

11. Answers A ellos les gustan las clases. Te encanta la fruta.
A ella le fasinca bailar.
Mí = me (does not agree in gender or number)
Mi = my (will agree in number)