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Verbs like gustar are crucial in Spanish. These verbs follow a unique structure that might be challenging for native English speakers at first, but they are essential for everyday conversation. Here, we’ll explore the intricacies of these verbs to help you understand how to use them better.

Indirect Object Pronouns

It’s important to familiarize yourself with the indirect object pronouns since they are indispensable when you use verbs like gustar. Here’s a quick rundown:

• Me (to me)
• Te (to you)
• Le (to him/her/it/formal you)
• Nos (to us)
• Os (to you all: this indirect object pronoun is used only in Castilian Spanish)
• Les (to them)

What Makes gustar Unique?

The verb gustar means “to like” or literally “to be pleasing to”. What’s unique about this verb is that the grammatical subject is the thing or action that pleases someone, not the person doing the liking. With this in mind, you need to remember that gustar is usually not used to describe liking a person, and you should conjugate gustar in the third person – either singular or plural. So, the verb can appear in these two forms in present tense:

For singular noun/action the person likes: GUSTA

For plural nouns the person likes: GUSTAN

The simplest sentence structure with gustar works like this:

Indirect object pronoun + form of gustar + object that is pleasing

For example:

Te gusta el libro.

You like the book. / The book is pleasing to you.

In this example, the indirect object pronoun te refers to the person being pleased, which is “you”. The object that is pleasing is el libro (third person singular), making it the grammatical subject of gustar. Therefore, gustar is conjugated as gusta. If the grammatical subject were plural (e.g. los libros), gustar would be conjugated as gustan.

When the indirect object pronoun itself causes confusion (e.g. le not specifying the exact person being talked about) or to emphasize the person being pleased, the following phrase can be added to the beginning of the sentence:

Phrase	Indirect Object Pronoun	Example
A mí	me	A mí me gusta la película.
A ti	te	A ti te gustan las manzanas.
A él/ella/usted A Alex A mi hermana	le	A Alex le gustan los gatos.
A nosotros/as A Joey y a mí	nos	A nosotros nos gusta el verde.
A vosotros/as A Diego y a ti	os	A Diego y a ti os gustan las papas fritas.
A ellos/ellas/ustedes A Isabela y a María A sus padres	les	A sus padres les gusta el dibujo.

You can also use gustar to describe what you like to do. In this case, add the infinitive verb of the action you like after the third person singular form of gustar. For instance:

Nos gusta cantar.

We like singing. / Singing is pleasing to us.

Common Verbs Like “Gustar”

Many other verbs in Spanish function similarly to gustar. For example:

• Encantar (to love): “Me encanta la música” (I love music).
• Interesar (to interest): “Te interesa la historia” (History interests you).
• Faltar (to lack): “Nos falta tiempo” (We lack time).
• Molestar (to bother): “Le molesta el ruido” (Noise bothers him/her).
• Quedar (to remain/be left): “Les quedan dos días” (They have two days left).

Want to learn more useful daily expressions like the ones here? Check out the FluenDay app and head to the Clip section! There, we’ve compiled daily Spanish expressions from various movies and shows so you can learn more practical expressions!

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Exercises

Complete the following sentences with the correct pronoun and form of the verb:

1. ________ (fascinar) las estrellas. (We are fascinated by the stars.)
2. ________ (molestar) el ruido. (You are bothered by the noise.)
3. A Lucero ________ (quedar) dos semanas de vacaciones. (Lucero has two weeks of vacation left.)
4. A mí ________ (encantar) bailar. (I love dancing.)
5. ________ (interesar) la historia. (They are interested in history.)
6. ¿A ti ________ (gustar) la comida mexicana? (Do you like Mexican food?)

Answers:

1. Nos fascinan las estrellas.
2. Te molesta el ruido.
3. A Lucero le quedan dos semanas de vacaciones.
4. A mí me encanta bailar.
5. Les interesa la historia.
6. ¿A ti te gusta la comida mexicana?