The verb GUSTAR
- El verbo GUSTAR
¡Me gusta el helado!
What does the girl tell us? She tells us that she likes ice cream. Let's see how the verb GUSTAR is used in Spanish.
The verb GUSTAR is used to express a preference. The VERB GUSTAR is constructed according to the following structure:
complemento indirecto + verbo + sujeto gramatical
The sujeto gramatical (grammatical subject) produces in the complement indirecto (indirect complement) the feeling expressed by the verb:
In the example:
The grammatical subject
The grammatical subject can be:
Me gusta el helado
Me gustan los helados
I like ice cream
I like ice creams
Le gusta leer.
Le gusta leer y escuchar música .
He likes to read.
He likes reading and listening to music.
When a noun is used, the verb agrees in number with the subject of the sentence, therefore with what we like.
The verb GUSTAR is usually conjugated in the third person.
The indirect complement
The indirect complement can be expressed with an unaccented personal pronoun or with an accented personal pronoun + unaccented personal pronoun
1 - With an unstressed personal pronoun
2 - With an accented personal pronoun + an unstressed personal pronoun
The unaccented personal pronoun is used mainly to clarify who the sentence refers to. For example:
A él le gusta el cine pero a ella le gusta el teatro.
He likes movies but she likes theater.
Remember that you CANNOT USE the stressed personal pronoun without combining it with the unstressed one.
Negative sentences
For the negative form just add 'no'.
Me gusta leer.
No me gusta leer.
A mí me gusta la pizza.
A mí no me gusta la pizza.
The verb GUSTAR in the conditional
The verb GUSTAR is used in the conditional tense to express a desire.
Me gustaría viajar a España este verano.
I would like to travel to Spain this summer.
Other EVALUATION VERBS
There are other evaluation verbs that express preferences, moods, feelings, emotions, reactions and are constructed like GUSTAR:
Apetecer - Having a desire for something
Doler - Suffer pain
Encantar - To like a lot
Fastifiar - Upset or annoy
Importar - interest, have a profound impact
Interesar - Be interesting
Molestar - Cause annoyance or inconvenience to someone
Preocupar - Produce concern
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