Gustamos???

Question

Hi all

Ok, this has been answered a 1k times before and I thought I'd got it down but hey, a few niggling doubts still linger

If...

te gusto = you like me

te gustan = you like them

te gusta = you like it/him/her

...it follows then that...?

te gustamos = you like us

AND is it right then that I can drop the clarifier 'a' in the construction 'me gusta (a) él/ella'

Answer 1

...it follows then that...?
te gustamos = you like us

Yes, that would follow.

AND is it right then that I can drop the clarifier 'a' in the construction 'me gusta (a) él/ella'

No. A él or a ella clarifies, and if the context allows, you can (and should) drop it. But don't drop just a part of it.

Also please note that generally, gustar in the context of people liking each other is a bit more than mere liking.

Answer 2

No, you should not drop the "a". The "a" refers to the pronoun. In your example you wrote, "me gusta (a) el/ella". It should be "a mí". The pronoun refers to "me". "el/ella" is the subject of "gusta".

Forget "like". Use "is pleasing to". It sounds awkward in English, but if you think in this way, you won't have another question regarding "gustarle a".

Answer 3

It should be "a mí". The pronoun refers to "me". "el/ella" is the subject of "gusta".

OK! So if I do need to clarify gender here I'd need the construction?: él/ella me gusta.

No, Anómalo, you don't need it if the subject is mentioned earlier. If the person you're talking to knows you're talking about "ella", ... - DonBigoteDeLaLancha, Jul 17, 2017

...you can omit it. - DonBigoteDeLaLancha, Jul 17, 2017

and if someone just asked you 'how do you feel about those two' and you did have to include a gender specific? For instance, in a situation like 'I like her, but I don't like him.' How then could we differentiate is my question? - anómalo, Jul 17, 2017

In that case, you use él and ella. - jtaniel, Jul 17, 2017

at the start of the sentence OR at the end and therefore you could drop the classifier 'a' -- eg. 'ella me gusta' or 'me gusta ella'. Voila! - anómalo, Jul 17, 2017