No me gusta a nadie o no me gusta nadie?

Question

¿Con a o sin a?

Answer 1

Easy.

In Spanish, a subject can never take a preposition.

Neither in English, I think.

Siempre das en el clavo :-). Gracias, - JazSpanish, Jan 9, 2013

or ... a preposition can never take a subject jeje but yes quite right, A preposition is followed by an object, which can be a noun, a pronoun or verb functioning as a noun. - Kiwi-Girl, Jan 9, 2013

Answer 2

For PeterRS and others interested in the nuances of the verb gustar, please check out this link from our Grammar section.

Thanks for that link, Franco. Now I'm more confused than EVER :-) I guess this just something like my older sister used to tell me after a date - I'll understand when I grow up! - PeterRS, Jan 8, 2013

lol @ PeterRS - JazSpanish, Jan 9, 2013

lol lol - zhmelissa, Jan 9, 2013

Answer 3

The verb "gustar" is tricky for so many people because English translates sentences using this verb with "like," when in reality, "gustar" literally means "to be pleasing."

The problem of using "like" to translate "gustar" is that it reverses the roles these words played in the original Spanish; what originally is an indirect object is translated as a subject in English, what really is the subject is translated as a direct object, and what actually is an intransitive verb is translated as a transitive one, causing much confusion among English-speaking learners, especially those who are not comfortable with the concept of subject, direct object, and indirect in their own tongue.

Assuming you are comfortable with these concepts, try rephrasing the English whenever in doubt to match the actual Spanish meaning: for example, "I don't like Juan" becomes "Juan is not pleasing to me." Then, you see that Juan is the subject in the original Spanish and you are actually the indirect object. Thus, you can see that "No me gusta Juan" is the correct translation and that "No me gusta a Juan" is incorrect because the personal a only applies to direct objects.

Similarly, "Chris doesn't like me" becomes "I am not pleasing to Chris." So, in this sentence, you are the subject performing the verb to Chris, the indirect object. So your sentence "No le gusto a Chris" is correct.

Sorry if this is a long read, but I hope that this post helps clarify your doubts with regards to this verb.

So does "No me gusta a nadie" mean "Nobody likes me"? - PeterRS, Jan 9, 2013

"No me gusta a nadie" is not correct. ever. You only use personal "a" with "nadie" when "nadie" is a direct object. - jerryshizzle123, Jan 9, 2013

"Nobody likes me" --> "I am pleasing to nobody" --> "Yo no le gusto a nadie" - jerryshizzle123, Jan 9, 2013

Answer 4

This would be my process to untangle gustar. I could be wrong, wait for the experts.

I don't like Juan => Juan is not pleasing to me => No me gusta Juan;

Chris doesn't like me => I'm not pleasing to Chris => No le gusto a Chris.

perfect ;) - Kiwi-Girl, Jan 9, 2013

I think "A Chris no le gusto yo" is also correct as is "A Chris no le gusto" - DilKen, Feb 25, 2015

Answer 5

Easy.

In Spanish, a subject can never take a preposition.

Hmmmm, at first I thought,, great, makes perfect sense.

Then I thought about it more (maybe a bad idea) and began to think

No me gusta nadie made sense, since nadie is the subject

but then,

why would nadie also be the subject in ´no le gusta a nadie?

The me and le in both seem like indirect object pronouns, I have trouble understanding how one nadie could be a subject, but not the other.

This one seems tricky.

Nadie is the indirect object. El o ella would be the subject. (It has been left out) - francobollo, Jan 9, 2013

Answer 6

No me gusta a nadie is incorrect. No le gusta a nadie means No one likes him or her or it.

No me gusta nadie means I do not like anyone.

Muchas gracias guapo! :) - zhmelissa, Jan 8, 2013

Answer 7

I'm sure Franco is correct, and I don't mean to contradict him, but this reference article seems to indicate that nadie takes the personal "a".

http://www.spanishdict.com/answers/116131/personal-a

You are correct. But no me gusta a nadie is not correct. Gustar is a difficult verb to master. I will do a separate posting on it. - francobollo, Jan 8, 2013

Thanks, Franco. I figured that article could only cover general guidelindes. - PeterRS, Jan 8, 2013

Answer 8

Another stupid question,

I don't like Juan. Let me try this one. No me gusta a Juan. Is my answer correct?

Chris doesn´t like me . No le gusto a Chris?