gustar ( me gusta....)

Question

One of the first things i learnt in spanish to say was me gusta.........

I still dont know why it isint gusto............ I have watched the videos many times and I am confused with the linguistic termonology Paralee uses.

She says its to do with the indirect project pronoun. I is (yo) and you is (tu). Why do they then become (me) and (te) respectively when used with the verb gustar?!

So what Im basically asking is when do you use the other forms of gustar like gusto, gustas etc etc. As well as why do we use gust-a for I/he/you likes when it should refer to the third person singular (he/she/usted) likes.

• i dont understand either, if u find out, please tell me!!!! ;) :) :) ;) - carlosismylo Nov 1, 2010

Answer 1

Here we go again...

If you really hate wine, would you say "I disgust wine"? Why don't you? You are asking the same question in Spanish when you ask why can't you say "No gusto el vino". You'd say "Wine disgusts me" and we could say (well, not me, hehe) "No me gusta el vino". Both are in third person (disgusts / gusta) and both have "me" in it.

The simple explanation is that in Spanish we do not like or dislike things -things are pleasing or disgusting to us. That's how "gustar" and many other numerous verbs of emotion and sensation are used.

Me gusta el vino = (Wine is "pleasing" to me) = I like wine

Te gusta el vino = (Wine is "pleasing" to you) = You like wine

Le gusta el vino = (Wine is "pleasing" to him/her) = He/she likes wine

When do you use other forms?

¿Te gusto? = (Am I pleasingto you?) = Do you like me?

No les gustas a mis padres = (You are not pleasing to my parents) = My parents don't like you

This construction is not totally strange in English (as I showed with "disgust"). Think of sentences like "That seems strange to me" -you don't say "I seem that strange"-, or "That scares me" -you don't say "I scare that", but you don't say "That fears me", but "I fear that". And don't think this is ridiculous, because there are many languages where they say literally "I seem that strange" and "I scare that".

• No les gustas a mis padres. - samdie Nov 1, 2010
• me gusta este articulo! - BRIGHT_DEVIL Mar 26, 2011

Answer 2

Hi, Gustar means to be pleasing. It is used with the indirect object pronouns. So the way a spanish person would say. I like the house would be ( To me the house is pleasing)= Me gusta la casa. if I say (me gustas) It means to me you are pleasing or in good English I like you. Gustan means that more than one thing is pleasing. translated- they are pleasing so if I say Te gustan las casas. It means to me the houses are pleasing or in good English "I like the houses". I hope I have been of help.

Answer 3

"To like" does not exist in Spanish. Forget about it or you're in for lots of headaches. I know this from personal experience. Instead try to think something like this .....

[to me] ..... [it is pleasing] -----> me gusta (I like it)

[to you] ..... [they are pleasing] ..... [the apples?] ¿Te gustan las manzanas? (Do you like apples?)

• ¿A quién [to whom] le gusta el perro?

• A Pedro [to Pedro]

Why not think up some sentences and post them here? We'll help you correct them (well I won't - "gustar" makes my brain melt )

Answer 4

Heidita put together this post about this topic because it comes up so often. Gustar doesn't mean to like, it means to please. Read a couple of the articles and threads and you'll get it.

Answer 5

OK. After reading up through most of the links I've been given, here is what I can and cant draw from it: (getting really frustrated with this, as its difficult to articulate)

I understand the verb gustar means to be pleasing to someone.

What I dont understand is how it is assigned to the third person. PLEASE correct me if im wrong but third person refers to he/she/you (formal) for singular uses and they/you all (formal) for plural uses.

So to take one of the examples lazarus has given,

Te gusta el vino You like wine (wine is pleasing to you)

And now to compare it with the next one given:

No les gustas a mis padres = (You are not pleasing to my parents) = My parents don't like you

WHY does this example now use the second person singular verb ending -AS instead of gusta? Both examples are referring to YOU and yet one uses gusta and the other gustas.

I think my confusion stems from the fact that I dont fully understand 3rd person. The phrase wine is pleasing to me (me gusta el vino) - What person is this written in? If 3rd please explain as my understanding of 3rd person is he or she. This is the root cause of the problem and would be far more beneficial to outline the reasons why this sentence is what it is.

Saying this I bet Iam still confused with the answers that I recieve! God help me! lol

• 1st sentence subject ='it' (the wine) 2nd sentence subject ='you' - samdie Nov 3, 2010

Answer 6

Anything you need to know about gustar, have a look, lots of excercises etc;9m

Answer 7

Let's dissect the statement that is giving you the problem:

No les gustas a mis padres

first drop the "a mis padres" temporarily-

No les gustas

in this "les"= " (to) them" and "gustas" = "you are pleasing (to)"

So by conjugating to the form for "you" one makes it clear that "you" is what is not pleasing to them. Adding back the "a mis padres" clarifies who the "them=les" are.

If you said "no les gusto" that would be "I am not pleasing to them". You might be happier if "yo" or some other form of a first person pronoun was in the sentence in some other way, but it is there in the choice of "gusto", which indicates that "I" is the one doing the pleasing.

If you say "te gusta el vino", then you are saying the wine is not pleasing to you. You are not saying that you are not pleasing to the wine.

You are not pleasing to them.

The wine is pleasing to you.

The subjects of the sentences are not the same, we do not even conjugate them the same in English. In one case you are not pleasing something, so the word "you" is the subject, in the other, something is not pleasing you, so that something is the subject.

Do not be confused by the fact that the subject of the verb is often only implied by the conjugation of the verb, and the indirect object is right in front of the verb.

Answer 8

Love that Manu Chao song!

Anyway, in response to jonski's follow-up question, in my opinion, for now, I would put aside the example: "No les gustas a mis padres". This is not a construction I have learnt as a (very recent) beginner and I think this may continue to confuse. Come back to this one later on. (Apologies if this seems like a cop-out but I think it might help... poco poco)

Stick with "te gusta el vino", usage of 'gustar' in its simplest form. The third person conjugation of the verb here, 'gusta', refers to the wine not to you. This is a good way of thinking about it - when using 'gustar' the conjugation you need is specified by the thing (in your mind if you're a native English speaker) you're talking about, e.g. wine, shoes. So:

"te gusta el vino" "me gustan los zapatos".

The third person form is used in these examples because it is talking about 'it' or 'they'. Not me or you. Try thinking about the third person as he, she or it.

Hope this helps a little.

Answer 9

It seems like everyone has covered pretty much all of the important bits and you definitely seem to be getting it - but I just thought I'd add a simple post with three basic points to remember when getting started in Spanish to express things that you like:

1. You must use the Spanish verb 'gustar' to be pleasing rather than the English verb 'to like' which will change your sentence structure.

eg instead of thinking - I like chocolate, start thinking, chocolate is pleasing to me

1. if you would say 'is' pleasing in English you use the third person sing of gustar - gusta

eg the wine 'is' pleasing to me - me gusta el vino

1. If you would say 'are' pleasing to me in English you use the third person plural of gustar - gustan

eg the vegetables 'are' pleasing to me - me gustan las verduras

Answer 10

Why do so many people consider constructions using 'gustar' to be 'backward'/'weird' (perhaps invented by Spanish speakers simply to bedevil foreigners)? Exactly the same construction occurs in French and Italian (and, probably, the other Romance languages). There are hundreds of verbs in English that are/can be used in constructions that parallel the Spanish syntax.

If anything, it is the English use of "to like" that's odd.

• Learning how to use gustar is one of the easier aspects of learning Spanish--prepositions on the other hand :( . . .the only thing I can say is they don't look as complicated as in English. - lorenzo9 Nov 1, 2010
• No foubt. The use of prepositions should top anyone's list of "not subject to logic" (In English as in Spanish). - samdie Nov 1, 2010
• English used to have a verb like that, little before Chaucer. - lazarus1907 Nov 1, 2010
• Learn something new every day... ;) - Goldie_Miel Nov 2, 2010

Answer 11

I still feel like ive missed something here, even after reading these threads. Why is the third person single tense verb ending -a used? Even if it means its pleasing to me when i say I like football. (football is pleasing to me) this still doesnt make any sense. It is pleasing to ME and me is I. How can this fit into the third person single tense?!

When talking to a close friend (tu) could you say Te gustas pollo? or would it still be te gusta pollo?

• "te gusta pollo"-- "chicken pleases you", not "you please chicken" or "chicken please you" - Stadt Nov 1, 2010
• i feel like im missing something 2! no worrys - carlosismylo Nov 1, 2010
• Look at the football sentence- you are saying football is pleasing to me, you conjugated to the third person single (is) not the first person (am). - Stadt Nov 1, 2010

Answer 12

Even if it means its pleasing to me when i say I like football. (football is pleasing to me) this still doesnt make any sense. It is pleasing to ME and me is I.

'me' is not 'I' (at least not in any grammatical sense).

The construction is simplicity, itself. The conjugated form of the verb is determined by the subject of the verb/sentence.

I am pleasing to him (Le gusto a él.) You are pleasing to him (Le gustas a él.) He/she/it is pleasing to him (Le gusta a él.) We are pleasing to him (Le gustamos a él.) Y'all are pleasing to him (Le gustais a él.) They are pleasing to him (Le gustan a él.)

In every case the verb is conjugated according to the subject. In every case the "le" and "a él" remain the same because (in these examples) it is always "to him". Were it "pleasing to us" one would replace the "le" by "nos" and the "a él" by "a nosotros", etc., etc.

P.S. The "a él" and the "a nosotros" are optional.

Answer 13

Oooh! I think I know this one. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's one of the weird verbs that reflect the quantity of what is being liked as opposed to the quantity of people doing the liking... ex: Le gusta la fresa. Le gustan las fresas.

Answer 14

check out the song me gusta by manu chao. these are the lyrics: Que hora son mi corazn Te lo dije bien clarito Permanece a la escucha

Permanece a la escucha 12 de la noche en La Habana, Cuba 11 de la noche en San Salvador, El Salvador 11 de la noche en Maragua, Nicaragua Me gustan los aviones, me gustas tu. Me gusta viajar, me gustas tu. Me gusta la maana, me gustas tu. Me gusta el viento, me gustas tu. Me gusta soar, me gustas tu. Me gusta la mar, me gustas tu. Que voy a hacer, je ne sais pas Que voy a hacer Je ne sais plus Que voy a hacer Je suis perdu Que horas son, mi corazn Me gusta la moto, me gustas tu. Me gusta correr, me gustas tu. Me gusta la lluvia, me gustas tu. Me gusta volver, me gustas tu. Me gusta marihuana, me gustas tu. Me gusta colombiana, me gustas tu. Me gusta la montaa, me gustas tu. Me gusta la noche, me gustas tu. Que voy a hacer, je ne sais pas Que voy a hacer Je ne sais plus Que voy a hacer Je suis perdu Que horas son, mi corazn

Me gusta la cena, me gustas tu. Me gusta la vecina, me gustas tu. Me gusta su cocina, me gustas tu. Me gusta camelar, me gustas tu. Me gusta la guitarra, me gustas tu. Me gusta el regaee, me gustas tu. Que voy a hacer, je ne sais pas Que voy a hacer Je ne sais plus Que voy a hacer Je suis perdu Que horas son, mi corazn Me gusta la canela, me gustas tu. Me gusta el fuego, me gustas tu. Me gusta menear, me gustas tu. Me gusta la Corua, me gustas tu. Me gusta Malasaa, me gustas tu. Me gusta la castaa, me gustas tu. Me gusta Guatemala, me gustas tu. Que voy a hacer, je ne sais pas Que voy a hacer Je ne sais plus Que voy a hacer Je suis perdu Que horas son, mi corazn Que voy a hacer, je ne sais pas Que voy a hacer Je ne sais plus Que voy a hacer Je suis perdu Que horas son, mi corazn Que voy a hacer, je ne sais pas Que voy a hacer Je ne sais plus Que voy a hacer Je suis perdu Que horas son, mi corazn

Que horas son, mi corazn Que horas son, mi corazn Que horas son, mi corazn

Que horas son, mi corazn

Que horas son, mi corazn

Radio reloj

5 de la maana

No todo lo que es oro brilla Remedio chino e infalible

Answer 15

In case you haven't already grasped "gustar", I did this and I really, really hope it is helpful for you!!

Forms of gustar:

gusto (I am pleasing)

gustas (You are pleasing)

gusta (He/She/You-formal/It is pleasing)

gustamos (We are pleasing)

gustaís (You all-informal are pleasing) // By the way, I've never seen this form; just guessing

gustan (They/You all-formal are pleasing)

Please note that you will almost never find any of these just by themselves. That is, without a me/te/le/les in front of it... as far as I know

Now, what the me/te/le/les signify is unto whom something is pleasing

Examples:

Me gusta ____

Literally: Unto me it/he/she/you-formal is pleasing

Translated as: I like it/him/her/you

So: Me gusta la música --> Unto me (or "to me") [the] music is pleasing --> I like (the) music

---

Me gustan _____

Literally: Unto me **they are pleasing*

Translated as: I like them

So: Me gustan los perros --> Unto me [the] dogs are pleasing --> I like [the] dogs

---

Let's try somemore, huh?!

• Le gusta : Unto him/her/you-formal/it it is pleasing

A María (to María - emphasis & clarity), le gusta el churrasco : To María, unto her the steak is pleasing : Maria likes the steak

• Nos gusta : Unto us it is pleasing

Nos gustan las películas : Unto us movies are pleasing : We like movies

• Les gusta : Unto them/you-all-formal it/he/she is pleasing

  Les gusta el fútbol : Unto them/you-all-formal soccer is pleasing : They/y'all like soccer

• Te gusta : Unto you it/he/she/you-form. is pleasing

  Te gusta a María : Unto you María is pleasing : You like María

---

Wow, that was a lot. One last one!

For the example you gave: No les gustas a mis padres

Unto them (my parents) you are not pleasing

My parents don't like you (lol)

Well, I hope this really helped. Also, if anyone sees any mistakes I made (critical or trivial), please feel free to correct me! Thanks!

• Te gusta a María (is incorrect/makes no sense) - Remove the 'a' and you'll be in business. - samdie Nov 3, 2010