*@&^&!ing "Gustar"

[Flexichick]

I need help!

Just when I thought I understood "gustar", my Spanish teacher threw me a curveball.

So many times I was taught that "gustar" is conjugated as "gusta" or "gustan", but now she's saying it can be conjugated like any other verb (e.g., in the present tense - gusto, gustas, etc.).:confused:

I hate when you think you finally "get" something and then your learning goes straight into the toilet!

This all started when the conversation revolved around the following:

"He likes me, but I don't like him".

So, just to make my head spin a little bit more ;D , can somebody provide the possible ways to say (using gustar):

"I like him"

"He likes me"


Gracias ;D

[Jimmy]

Ahhhhhhh Gustar - yes one to love for us english speakers....

Well, here's how I was taught - you have to think about "liking" something in reverse.

So in your example of "I like him" or "he likes me", you have to think of Gustar = to be pleasing...to something.

Therefore, "I like him" becomes "he is pleasing to me" & "He likes me" becomes "I am pleasing to him". In this way 'you give the pleasure to him, rather than him taking it :p:rolleyes: '.

So, examples:

- I like him = he is pleasing to me = me gusta
- He likes me = I am pleasing to him = le gusto
- He likes me, but I don't like him = I am pleasing to him, but he is not pleasing to me = Le gusto, pero no me gusta

You just have to practise the hell out of these to change your mind around.

To ME, something is pleasing:

Me gustas (I like you)
Me gusta (I like him/her)
Me gustan (I like them)

To YOU, something is pleasing:

Te gusto (You like me)
Te gusta (You like him/her)
Te gustan (You like them)

To HIM/HER, something is pleasing

Le gusto (He/she likes me)
Le gustas (He/she likes you)
Le gusta (He/she likes him/her)
Le gustan (He/she likes them)

Same with THEM & VOSOTROS etc. You use this same method with ENCANTAR. But you use more of the english way of thinking with querer (except the me, te, le goes at the front).


BUT - don't make the mistake I did when first learning - Instead of saying "Mucho gusto" (pleased to meet you) when meeting someone. I said "Me gusto". i.e. "Hello, how are you, I like myself !!!" :eek:

Enjoy !!!!!

[cubix]

BUT - don't make the mistake I did when first learning - Instead of saying "Mucho gusto" (pleased to meet you) when meeting someone. I said "Me gusto". i.e. "Hello, how are you, I like myself !!!" :eek:

Enjoy !!!!!

hah our band director one year, for a week or two would always say Me Gusto, he really didn't undertand if meant i like myself(it can also have more connotations, or so the native speakers in band said)

Jimmy's explanation looks correct to me, the more you use it the more used you will get.

[greytop]

WordReference forum (http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=219223)extract might add to Jimmy's ecellent post. There are about 30 threads under "gustar" so it's a common problem!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
gustar means to please literally, to like figuratively
In English the verb gustar is in fact literally translated as to please. It is figuratively translated as to like. If it literally meant to like, yo gusto would mean I like, and it certainly does not mean that, it literally means I please.

Encantar literally means to enchant, but has a different figurative meaning:
Example: Me encantan tus canciones. (I really dig your songs)
However, it actually means, your songs enchant me.

Knowing the figurative and actual meanings are important for both gustar and encantar.

Also according to this guy (http://forum.wordreference.com/showpost.php?p=838616&postcount=3) there are 300 similar verbs. so it is a useful idea to get straight!

[Flexichick]

I used to understand this, I swear! Now it has somehow left my brain :confused:

Jimmy - thanks for writing it all out for me, I'm going to study it that way.

I "get" that part, although I often forget it.

What makes me even more confused is when we start studying it like this:

A ti te gusto yo - you like me
A el le gustas tu - He likes you


I know this is sort of like a mi no me importa and dozens of other verbs.

I think I was just having one of those "just when I think I'm cruising along, speaking fairly well, I hit a very simple concept that sometimes I just can't get my head around" type of days.

I guess I'll just keep hammering it into my brain until it sticks! :hammer: :hammer: :hammer:

[SimonS]

I know this is sort of like a mi no me importa and dozens of other verbs.

I think I was just having one of those "just when I think I'm cruising along, speaking fairly well, I hit a very simple concept that sometimes I just can't get my head around" type of days.

I guess I'll just keep hammering it into my brain until it sticks! :hammer: :hammer: :hammer:


I think the key to this is practice! It's like a lot of the constructs which are not familiar to English speakers like reflexive verbs, its very tough but after lots of repetition - it suddenly clicks and takes on meaning without having to think about it.

What REALLY helped me with this kind of thing was listening over and over again to the same dialog - in the car or wherever. It really helps when you have an audio course which you can listen to in that way without getting bored. One which I really liked was Harrap's 'Sobre Ruedas' which was like a little soap opera about a travel agency. I think it may not be available now but might still be available from a lending library. Otherwise, its worth trying out a few - I have seen really good audio courses and really bad ones.

?Te gustan mis sugerencias?

[Alan]

And we´ve not got to "me gustaría" (I would like him/it), "me gustó" (I liked him/it) or "me gustaban" (I used to like them) yet :)

[rod]

A good illustrative example of how this all works is the Manu Chao song, ‘Me Gustas Tu’, por ejemplo: Me gustan los aviones, me gustas tu.
Me gusta viajar, me gustas tu.
Me gusta la mañana, me gustas tu.
Me gusta el viento, me gustas tu.
Me gusta soñar, me gustas tu.
Me gusta la mar, me gustas tu….
(Continues in similar vein for three more verses which I won’t paste in here, easily findable on the internet.)

This not only helped me nail down a key grammatical structure, but is also a great song!

[Jules]

I've checked out every Spanish grammatical book I have e.g. Accion grammatica, Exacto, 501 Spanish verbs etc and they all agree on the fact that gustar & other 'impersonal' verbs are conjugated in the third person only. If 1st & 2nd persons are possible, can anyone please identify a credible gramatical reference. Nobody has done so yet.
In practice its surely simpler to stick to the way we we've obviously all been taught to use the third person construction.

[que]

A good illustrative example of how this all works is the Manu Chao song, ‘Me Gustas Tu’, por ejemplo:Me gustan los aviones, me gustas tu.

Me gusta viajar, me gustas tu.

Me gusta la mañana, me gustas tu.

Me gusta el viento, me gustas tu.

Me gusta soñar, me gustas tu.

Me gusta la mar, me gustas tu….
(Continues in similar vein for three more verses which I won’t paste in here, easily findable on the internet.)

This not only helped me nail down a key grammatical structure, but is also a great song!

Ah Manu Chao, has to be one of my fav. If you've never heard him before, really you should take a listen. I love the way he mixes English, French, Spanish!

[Marina]

Hey Jimmy, your explanation is great!!!
I know gustar can be very difficult to use (I suffered the same the other way round when I started learning English) but your trick with pleasing seems like a very good idea.

[greytop]

I've checked out every Spanish grammatical book I have e.g. Accion grammatica, Exacto, 501 Spanish verbs etc and they all agree on the fact that gustar & other 'impersonal' verbs are conjugated in the third person only. If 1st & 2nd persons are possible, can anyone please identify a credible gramatical reference. Nobody has done so yet.
In practice its surely simpler to stick to the way we we've obviously all been taught to use the third person construction.

I think this is one area where "501 verbs" falls down. It translates gustar = to like, which it is not. Had they said something like "often used in the 3rd person to show liking for something" it may have been better.
If you look in the RAE online dictionary (http://www.rae.es/)the verb is fully conjugated and has several meanings.

1. trans. Sentir y percibir el sabor de las cosas.
2. trans. Experimentar (probar).
3. intrans. Agradar, parecer bien.
4. intrans. Dicho de una persona: Resultar atractiva a otra.
5. intrans. Desear, querer y tener complacencia en algo. Gustar de correr, de jugar.

This would back up previous posts.

[Tony]

Sorry I dont want to be a pain but I thought I was ok with Gustar until I read all the items on the forum ....... now I am confused :cool: :confused:

My text book (Accion Gramatica and also 501 spanish verbs) suggest that gustar does not have a first person format..
ie gusto is not used (unless it has an accent and then is preterite in the past tense.. gustó... liked)

Now for it....La gran pregunta - Is it correct to say the following -

(singular - item being liked)
he/she likes me = le gusta and not le gusto ??
you like me = te gusta

(plural items being liked eg "podcasts")
le gustan los podcasts = he/she likes the podcasts
we like = nos gustan los podcasts

¿Puedes Ayudeme por favor? :eek: :confused:

[Marina]

You are getting confused between the person in the singular form, for example:

le gusta - is correct but it is used for he/she likes her/him
"A Pepe le gusta Maria"

le gusto - he/she likes me
"A Pepe le gusto (yo)"

te gusta - you like him/her
"A ti te gusta Lola"

te gusto - you like me.
"A ti te gusto (yo)"

[Jules]

Sorry I dont want to be a pain but I thought I was ok with Gustar until I read all the items on the forum ....... now I am confused :cool: :confused:

My text book (Accion Gramatica and also 501 spanish verbs) suggest that gustar does not have a first person format..
ie gusto is not used (unless it has an accent and then is preterite in the past tense.. gustó... liked)

(singular - item being liked)
he/she likes me = le gusta and not le gusto ??
you like me = te gusta



Like Tony, I too don't want to be a pain but this is exactly the point I was trying to make in my earlier post. It sounds from the responses from native speakers that there are some unreferenced grammatical rules in play here (i.e colloquialisms or dichos).

The RAEonline dictionary entry (thanks for that link Greytop) gives 1st and 2nd person conjugations but no gramatical usage that I can find.

Going back to Tony's example, using the rules I was taught:

(1) indirect-object pronoun representing the person who likes + (2) verb + (3) the object liked

(1) he/she (eg Pilar) (2) likes (3) the book
le gusta el libro or A Pilar le gusta el libro

(1) Pilar (2) likes (3) me
The only difference is the object being liked i.e me, so my attempt to say this, following the rules is:
A Pilar le gusta a mi.
I hope my intended meaning would be understood by a native speaker even though Marina would say:
A Pilar le gusto (yo).

[greytop]

So in Spanish and English they translate:

Me gustas tu
to me you are pleasing = I like you

"A Pepe le gusta Maria"
to him (Pepe) is pleasing Maria = Pepe likes Maria

le gusto - he/she likes me
"A Pepe le gusto (yo)"
to him (Pepe) i am pleasing = Pepe likes me

te gusta - you like him/her
"A ti te gusta Lola"
to you (you) she (Lola) is pleasing = you like Lola

te gusto - you like me.
"A ti te gusto (yo)"
to you I am pleasing = You like me

Right or wrong? You can see why teachers avoid this and stick to 3rd person only! We can get our heads round that.

[Tony]

Hola .... hay mas informacion abajo..:rolleyes:


http://http://www.bowdoin.edu/%7Eeyepes/newgr/ats/36a39.htm#gustar


hasta luego

[Flexichick]

Hola .... hay mas informacion abajo..:rolleyes:


http://http://www.bowdoin.edu/%7Eeyepes/newgr/ats/36a39.htm#gustar


hasta luego
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This link isn't working for me

[landlady]

Try this link Flexichic http://www.bowdoin.edu/ then type in gustar in the search box- there is quite a selection to choose from.

[omeyas]

\

This link isn't working for me

Not surprised, it has http twice! :)

[landlady]

Just to say thanks to Tony for that link. It is a brilliant site for Spanish
grammer. http://www.bowdoin.edu/~eyepes/index.html (http://www.bowdoin.edu/%7Eeyepes/index.html)

[rod]

I've checked out every Spanish grammatical book I have e.g. Accion grammatica, Exacto, 501 Spanish verbs etc and they all agree on the fact that gustar & other 'impersonal' verbs are conjugated in the third person only. If 1st & 2nd persons are possible, can anyone please identify a credible gramatical reference.

501 Spanish verbs actually says (my emphasis):

'This verb is commonly used in the third person singular or plural' (p. 255)

and again,

'the verb gustar is used in the third person, either in the singular or plural, when you talk aobut something that you like' (p. 528)

ie, the book neither states that the verb is only used in the third person, nor that when you tell somebody you like them, or you talk about another person liking you, you should only try to do this by using the third person.

What I suppose 501 Spanish Verbs and other grammars are trying to do is to keep things simple by omitting usage that they consider not to be common, but that doesn't mean such usage would be ungrammatical. However, whilst 95+% of the time it is the third person form that we use, there are times when we will need to use the first or second person form to express something, and if we tried to use the third person form it would actually be grammatically incorrect.

For example:

1 'I think she likes me'

or

2 'I like you a lot, but...'

now, using gustar, I can't see that there's any other way but to use the first/second person forms, ie:

1 'Creo que (a ella) le gusto'

2 'Me gustas mucho, pero...'

So my view is put aside the grammar books on this occasion, in favour of the excellent illustrative examples given above by Jimmy, Marina, Greytop and Manu Chao.

[Jules]

So my view is put aside the grammar books on this occasion, in favour of the excellent illustrative examples given above by Jimmy, Marina, Greytop and Manu Chao.

I totally agree. at the beginning of this thread, the whole idea of 1st & 2nd conjugations was a bit confusing but now that we've had plenty of good examples I think I can take it in my stride. However I don't know many (any?) Spanish native speakers to whom I would say: A ti te gusto !!!