problem about gusta

Question

me gusta means' I like ' but gusta is third person of gustar , so it should mean she like i m confused . could s.b help me plz

I also asked the same Q but in a different manner. And as suggested by the moderators to me , use correct capitalization . - ZAYESHA, May 25, 2012

And welcome to SD:) - ZAYESHA, May 25, 2012

OK, and thanks - himaa1, May 25, 2012

Answer 1

You're confusing the subject of the verb with

"Gustar" is usually an intransitive verb... that's to say, sometimes you have to write it with a "pronombre personal" (1º me, 2º te, 3º le...)

"Gustar" like an intransitive verb:

I like cinema

Let's see :

1º Me gusta el cine (A mi me gusta el cine)

2º Te gusta el cine (A ti te gusta cine)

3º Le gusta el cine (A él/ella le gusta el cine)

4º Nos gusta el cine (A nosotros nos gusta el cine)

... .... Fíjate que en todos los casos "gusta" no cambia... Aunque cambiemos de persona verbal (1ª, 2ª....), no se modifica. Aquí no es "1º gusto, 2º gustas, 3º gusta...."

¿Por qué se emplea la 3ª forma verbal si el sujeto es diferente?.... pues porque va en concordancia con el objeto directo (direct object) "el cine".

In English it's different:

I like cinema = I like it

it (it's a direct object in third person)... it's the same that "cinema"

but in English you don't ever say "I likes cinema / I likes it".

In English "like" concords with the subject (I, you, ...).

In Spanish this kind of verbs concords with the direct object

Look that:

• Me gusta el coche ("el coche" it's in 3rd singular person, so you have to conjugate "gusta")
• Me gustan los coches ("el coche" it's in 3rd plural person, so you have to conjugate "gusta")
• Me gustas tú ("tú" it's in 2nd singular person, so you have to conjugate "gustas")

thanks - himaa1, May 25, 2012

Answer 2

Hi and welcome to the forum.

me gusta means' I like '

"Me gusta" means that something pleases me; hence, the third person usage of the verb.

Me gusta el helado (The ice cream pleases me)

thanks - himaa1, May 25, 2012

Answer 3

When I look at gustar used with a reflexive pronoun, I think of "gustarse", in which the verb is reflexive. In a phrase like "me gustan los carros", the verb is third person plural, because the subject is not "I", but rather "the cars". If you translate the phrase as "the cars are pleasing to me", you see the logic in this. if you use the "normal" translation, "I like cars", you will miss that point.

thanks noetol - himaa1, May 25, 2012

¡De nada! - Noetol, May 25, 2012

Answer 4

When working out how to use gustar, you might find it helpful to think of it as "is liked by" instead of "like". e.g. "me gusta" = "it is liked by me", "te gusta" = "it is liked by you" "me gustan" = "they are liked by me".

thanks a lot - himaa1, May 25, 2012