Gusta versus gustan

Question

Okay, I have been unable to solve this one on my own.

From a workbook (very basic level)-

¿Qué te gusta más? (section question)

List of questions follow including (all other choices were between items in the singular): ¿un dólar o diez dólares?

The answer in the answer key: Me gusta más diez dolares.

I am trying to understand why it would not be “gustan”.

I understand that infinitives (even if more than one) use gusta. (Me gusta correr y nadar).

I don’t think the use of “más” requires “gusta”, as I found this quote on the web: “Me gustan más los sueños del futuro que la historia del pasado”.

Is the “sum of” implicit in the answer, making it a singular sum (ie, Me gusta más la cantidad de diez dolares)?

Is “tener” (or some other infinitive) somehow implicit (ie, Me gusta más tener diez dolares)?

Or, is the answer given just wrong?

Or?

The exercises in Grámatica básica del estudiante de español are good. - Janice, Feb 4, 2011

Thanks, I will look into that one. - Stadt, Feb 4, 2011

Answer 1

What is it more pleasing to you? A dollar, or ten dollars?

List of questions follow including (all other choices were between items in the singular): ¿un dólar o diez dólares?

The answer in the answer key: Me gusta más diez dolares.

The answer is wrong to me, if you ask me! If you ask anyone: "What do you like: one dollar or ten dollar?", what would you answer? "I like ten dollar?" Really?? We'd say "Prefiero diez dólares". In any case, it would be "Me gustan más los diez dólares", which sounds strangely foreign, but at least it is grammatically correct.

I am trying to understand why it would not be “gustan”.

So am I, and Spanish is my mother tongue.

I understand that infinitives (even if more than one) use gusta. (Me gusta correr y nadar).

I don’t think the use of “más” requires “gusta”, as I found this quote on the web: “Me gustan más los sueños del futuro que la historia del pasado”.

"Más" has nothing to do with anything: it is "los sueños" which matters.

Is “tener” (or some other infinitive) somehow implicit (ie, Me gusta más tener diez dolares)?

"Me gusta más tener diez dólares has an infinitve, so it is grammatically correct. It just sounds silly.

Thanks, as has been pointed out here many times before, many of the exercises available are really of poor quality. - Stadt, Feb 4, 2011

! - Janice, Feb 4, 2011

It is especially upsetting to me that you needed to add "los", as I have difficulty with knowing when to use an article and when not to, and if I see incorrect example sentences, i will never gain an instinct for it. - Stadt, Feb 4, 2011

Answer 2

It is especially upsetting to me that you needed to add "los", as I have difficulty with knowing when to use an article and when not to, and if I see incorrect example sentences, i will never gain an instinct for it.

Don't get discouraged, Stadt:

Me gustan más diez euros is correct, like your intuition said to you.

Me gustan más los diez euros is also correct, maybe more colloquial.

Prefiero diez euros is another way for saying the same thing.

Diez euros me gustan más is, also, correct.

Me gusta más tener 10 euros is another one that is perfectly correct.

Honestly, neither of them sounds foreign to me. It'd sound foreing, for example : Yo gusto más diez euros.

And, me gusta más diez euros, although it has a grammatical mistake, as you noticed, it is not a barbarity. It's wrong, but the sentence is perfectly understandable. So, don't get discouraged.

...is another way for saying... we always want to say un otro and una otra, by the way... :-) - webdunce, Feb 5, 2011

;) Thanks, webdunce - cogumela, Feb 5, 2011

Thanks, your comments are always so helpful. - Stadt, Feb 5, 2011

Answer 3

I understand that here "a" works as "ten ". I mean, it functions as a numeral adjective. Therefore, the question is about preference concerning quantities and the answers do not have to carry articles.

"Me gusta más 1 euro", "me gustan más 10 euros"

Does it sound right "me gusta más el 1 euro"?.

Let's change the sentence with a very similar semantic meaning: "¿Qué te gusta más: 1 caramelo de fresa o 10 caramelos de limón? I would say "me gustan más los diez caramelos de limón" or "me gusta más el caramelo de fresa" to state my preferences for the flavors, not for the quantity.

¿Qué te gustan más: los animales o las plantas?. (Here it is necessary to place "los" or "las")

Me gustan más los animales.

Me gustan más las plantas.

Answer 4

Since you are talking about a sum of money, rather than ten individual one-dollar bills, the sum works like a single thing. We do this in English, too. For example, we would say, "10 dollars buys more than one," not "10 dollars buy more than one."

However, we also could say, "Two minds are better than one." In this case, the minds are together but still distinct from one another, so we use the plural form of the verb.

Answer 5

¿Qué gusta más: un euro o diez euros? (We talk about people in general)

Diez euros gustan más que un euro

¿Qué te gusta más: el euro o los diez euros? (We have the money before us). Then, it is necessary to use "el" o "los".

Los diez euros me gustan más que el euro

¿Qué te gusta más: un euro o diez euros?. (We don't have the money before us).

Diez euros me gustan más que un euro

Me gustan más diez euros que un euro

Thanks you, that makes sense. - Stadt, Feb 5, 2011

Answer 6

It is especially upsetting to me that you needed to add "los", as I have difficulty with knowing when to use an article and when not to, and if I see incorrect example sentences, i will never gain an instinct for it.

Then memorize this rule: subjects in Spanish generally require an article or quantifier (e.g. el, un, muchos...), except proper nouns and infinitives. The thing that you like in verbs like "gustar", "apetercer", "importar"... is the subject, so:

Me gusta el...

Me apetece un...

Me importa dos...

Forget about "Me gusta chocolate", unless "Chocolate" is someone's name, and you like that person.

From my point of view, the thing about "los diez euros" is optional. I would use if I have the euros before me.

Me gusta más tener diez euros.

You are cheating, nila45, because the subject of "gustar" must have an article unless it is an infinitive or a proper noun, so you have "fixed" the sentence by replacing a nominal subject with an infinitive clause, which unlike the original one, does not require the article. Would you say "Me gusta diez euros"?

Is not 'ten' a quantifier, Laz? 'Diez euros' hoy no llegan para nada, is not a correct subject? I agree with Nila in this point. I could be wrong, of course - cogumela, Feb 5, 2011

Thanks, I know instincts are more important than rules, but I do better at training the instinct when I understand the rule. - Stadt, Feb 5, 2011

Answer 7

For some particular reason, "gustar" is an special verb in Spanish becuase the object is the subject. And, you know, suject changes verb.

Me gusta más un euro. Un euro me gusta más.

Me gustan más diez euros. Diez euros me gustan más.

From my point of view, the thing about "los diez euros" is optional. I would use if I have the euros before me.

Me gusta más tener diez euros.

Answer 8

You have two choices 1 or 10 the question is asking which single choice would please you the most They are asking you about the choice which is singular and not the contents of each choice and that is why the answer was gusta and not gustan having said that it is a tricky question question which I find they often appear in these books of exercises.