How would you say "Nobody used to like me?" (imperfect)

Question

I have "nadie me gustaba", but it sounds wrong now, so help please? (Basically, I want to say "Nobody liked me when I was little" using the imperfect form)

Nadie me queria - would be a good translation - for example - Nadie me queria cuando era pequeno. - Hiram_n_dallas, MAR 3, 2010

Answer 1

If you are talking about a boy/girl, say: "Nadie gustaba de mi" (That's the way we say it in Spanish)

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If you're talking about family or friends, say: "No le agradaba mucho a nadie"

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If you say "Nadie me quería" that means "no one loved you" (It's too strong)

I thought quería was too much, but couldn't know for sure. Nadie gustaba de mi? Interesting. - webdunce, MAR 3, 2010

We say: ¿Gustás de alguien? meaning ¿Te gusta alguien? Me gusta Juan, pero él no gusta de mi :(.............. in Argentina is the most common way to express it :) - Benz, MAR 3, 2010

Answer 2

I would go with: yo no le gustaba a nadie o yo no le caía bien a nadie.

Interesting. So you don't mind having the subject first and the indirect object last when using gustar? That's good to see a native use it like this. It lets me know Spanish word order works with gustar just as it does with other verbs. - webdunce, MAR 3, 2010

Answer 3

Well, first of all, you are being afflicted by the backwardness of gustar.

Nobody used to like me => I used not to be pleasing to anybody => A nadie no le gustaba yo.

First, with gustar, Spanish likes to put the subject after the verb. The subject is I. So, it's no gustaba yo.

Second, you're always pleasing or not pleasing TO somebody (nadie in this case). Nadie is the indirect object noun. With gustar, Spanish prefers to put the indirect object BEFORE the verb (don't know why). So, it's A nadie no gustaba yo.

Finally, in Spanish, whenever a sentence has an indirect object NOUN, it must ALSO have the indirect object PRONOUN (completely unlike in English where if you have the noun you would not have the pronoun and vice-versa, remember, this strange rule applies only to INdirect objects). That would be LE in this case. Indirect object pronouns always come just before the verb (and AFTER no, if the verb is negative). So, it would be: A nadie no le gustaba yo.

Normally we don't include subject pronouns (like yo), but since gustaba can be first OR third person, we will probably need to include it unless context has removed all doubt about who the subject of the sentence is.

Also, I think Spanish prefers to simply say "cuando niño" for "when I was a child."

So, I would go with: Cuando niño, a nadie no le gustaba yo.

Now, is that what native Spanish speakers would naturally say when expressing this idea? En verdad, no lo sé, but I think I have got it grammatically correct, which I thought might be a helpful exercise. Also, I think it is in fact a valid expression of the idea. Obviously not the only one, though. Of course, if it has a sense of meaning "no one found me attractive when I was young" it might not be the best choice, then.

Apparently, I am making too much of the word order. See Benz and Margola's posts. - webdunce, MAR 3, 2010

Answer 4

I would say that "Nadie me queria" is a good translation. To your point of nobody liked me when I was little - I would translate that as "Nadie me queria cuando yo era pequeño."

Answer 5

To really get your point across I might change the phrase a bit and say instead: No tenía amigos antes, cuando era niño. (I didn't have friends before, when I was a child.) To say no one liked you as a friend: No le caía bien a nadie. (I wasn't "likeable" to anyone. Literally: I didn't fall well to anyone." To say no one liked/loved you: Nadie me quería. (No one loved me.) To say no one found you attractive: No le gustaba a nadie. (I wasn't attractive to anyone. Literally: I wasn't pleasant to anyone.)