Expressing Likes and Dislikes Flashcards
Stem-changing Verbs
These verbs are semi-regular, in that they follow patterns, but within this pattern the stem changes as well as the endings. There are three types of stem-changing verbs: o-ue, e-ie, and e-i. Stem-changing verbs can end in -ar, -er, or -ir, and their endings change according to the rules for regular verbs.
to ask for
pedir
to be able to
poder
to begin, start
comenzar, empezar
to boil
hervir
to close
cerrar
to compete
competir
to confess
confesar
to cost
costar
to count
contar
to defend
defender
to die
morir
to dream
soñar
to feel
sentir
to find
encontrar
to fly
volar
to follow
seguir
to fry
freír
to gain, get, achieve, obtain, acquire, procure; acomplish, pull off, manage to
conseguir
to groan, moan
gemir
to have lunch
almorzar
to laugh
reír
to lie
mentir
to light
encender
to lose
perder
to measure
medir
to move
mover
to play
jugar
to prefer
preferir
to prove, try, test
probar
to pursue, chase
perseguir
to remember
recordar
to repeat
repetir
to return (to come or go back)
volver
to return, give back
devolver
to say good-bye to; fire
despedir
to serve
servir
to show
mostrar
to sleep
dormir
to smile
sonreír
to suggest
sugerir
to think
pensar
to understand
entender
to wake up
despertar
to want, wish, love
querer
to warn
advertir
The Direct Object
The direct object of a sentence is the noun or pronoun that receives the action of the verb. You can also think of this in terms of the subject acting on the object. A useful general rule is to ask What? or Who(m)? The answer is the direct object.
The Personal A
The preposition -a- often appears before references to people. This is because Spanish uses the -a- personal before the direct object when the direct object is a person (or sometimes a pet). The -a- personal is not used with things nor with the verb tener.
We see Matilde.
Vemos a Matilde.
We see a movie.
Vemos una película.
I call someone.
Llamo a alguien.
The police officer chases the burglar.
El policía persigue al ladrón. (Remember that a plus el con-tracts to al.)
I have two daughters.
Tengo dos hijas.
I love my husband.
Quiero a mi marido.
Marta wakes up her friend.
Marta despierta a su amiga.
We pet the dog.
Acariciamos al perro.
Demonstrative Adjectives and Pronouns
Demonstrative adjectives and pronouns are used to say this, that, these, and those. It’s important to remember the difference between adjectives and pronouns. An adjective describes or modifies a noun. A pronoun is used in place of a noun and stands alone.
I prefer this dress.
Prefiero este vestido. (In this example, este (this) is an adjective because it describes the noun vestido.)
I prefer this one.
Prefiero éste. (In this sentence, éste (this one), with an accent over the e (é), is a pronoun because it replaces the words este vestido and stands alone.)
Demonstrative Adjectives - This and That
In English, we have only one way to say this and one way to say that, in addition to the plural forms these and those. This, that, these, and those are the demonstrative adjectives. In Spanish, there are three demonstrative adjectives, each with four forms.
To say this…
Use the adjective este and its feminine and plural forms.
this waiter
este camarero
this cookie
esta galleta
these waiters
estos camareros
these cookies
estas galletas
Spanish has two ways to say that.
The first is ese. Ese refers to something that is close to the person spoken to, but not to the speaker. It also has four forms. The second way to say that, aquel, refers to something that is far away from both the speaker and the person spoken to. The adjective aquel also has four forms. Remember that in the feminine and plural forms, the double l has a y sound.
that spoon
esa cuchara
those spoons
esas cucharas
that knife
ese cuchillo
those knives
esos cuchillos
that restaurant
aquel restaurante
those restaurants
aquellos restaurantes
that city
aquella ciudad
those cities
aquellas ciudades
Where did you buy those shoes?
¿Dónde compraste esos zapatos?
That city is too dangerous.
Aquella ciudad es demasiado peligrosa.
These candies are my favorites.
Estos caramelos son mis favoritos.
Demonstrative pronouns
Demonstrative pronouns look very similar to demonstrative adjectives, and sound the same when spoken. The only thing that differentiates their spelling from that of adjectives is that they carry accent marks. Remember that the demonstrative pronoun replaces a noun.
this one (here)
éste, ésta
that one (there)
ése, ésa
that one (over there)
aquél, aquélla
these (here)
éstos, éstas
those (there)
ésos, ésas
those (over there)
aquéllos, aquéllas
Do you prefer this wine, or that one (near you)?
¿Prefieres este vino o ése?
I prefer this one.
Prefiero éste.
That one is good.
Aquél es bueno.
I like this watch, but I prefer that one over there.
Me gusta este reloj, pero prefiero aquél.
That beach is nice, but this one is nicer.
Aquella playa es bonita, pero ésta es más tranquila.
I go to that restaurant (near you) but I don’t go to that one (over there).
Voy a ese restaurante, pero no voy a aquél.
Gender-neutral pronouns
esto, eso, or aquello used to refer to something of which the gender is not known, such as a general concept or idea, or a thing. These words never carry a written accent and are not used to refer to people, except in a derogatory way.
This is a drag.
Esto es un rollo.
This is for you.
Esto es para ti.
That’s it!
¡Eso es!
That’s why.
Por eso.
I don’t like that one over there.
No me gusta aquello.
That one over there is good.
Aquello es bueno.
The Verb Gustar
With verbs such as gustar, the subject of the sentence is different than it is in English. In English, the subject is the person (I, we, you, they, etc.), while in Spanish the subject of the sentence is the object (room, books).
English Way: I like the book. (subject, verb, direct object)
Spanish Way: The book is pleasing to me. (subject, verb, indirect object)
Gustar is conjugated to agree with the subject of the sentence. Gustar becomes either gusta or gustan, depending upon whether the subject of the sentence is singular or plural. It has nothing to do with which indirect object pronoun is used. Since the subject of the sentence must be either singular (book) or plural (books), the only forms of gustar you will use are “gusta” and “gustan.” This is true regardless of what indirect object pronoun appears in the sentence.
A common mistake is to say “Me gusto los libros.” This is incorrect because the subject of the sentence is “los libros” even though it comes at the end. So the correct wording is Me gustan los libros. (I like the books.)
I like you - me gustas
I like it - me gusta
I like them - me gustan
I like her - me gusta
I like the books - me gustan los libros.
I don’t like them - no me gustan.
Do you like them - ¿te gustan?
Does she like it? - ¿le gusta?
Do you like it? (plural) - ¿os gusta?
She likes me - le gusta yo.
We like this hotel - Nos gusta este hotel.
We like the book - nos gusta el libro.
We like the books - nos gustan los libros.
You like the book - te gusta el libro.
You like the books - te gustan los libros.
You like us - te gustan nosotros
Making the 3rdperson clear
If you say “le gusta el chocolate” it is not clear if you mean “she likes chocolate” or “he likes chocolate”. If you want to make it clear, you can add “a ella” or “a él” either before or after. Note that the “a” comes before “the person doing the liking” Not the “thing liked”.
He likes brandy - “A él le gusta el cognac” or “Le gusta a él el cognac”
This type of verb usually expresses an emotional response to something. Others are:
aburrir - to bore
fascinar - to be fascinating to
bastar - to be sufficient
importar - to be important to
caer bien (mal) - to (not) suit
interesar - to be interesting to
dar asco - to be loathsome
molestar - to be a bother
disgustar - to hate something
parecer - to appear to be
doler (o:ue) - to be painful
picar - to itch
encantar - to “love” something
quedar - to be left over, remain
faltar - to be lacking something
volver (o:ue) - to return, go or come back
loco - to be crazy about
I like meat. Literal translation: Meat is pleasing to me.
Me gusta la carne.
La carne is the subject of the sentence, and gusta is the verb. If the subject is plural, then the verb is plural: gustan. Me gustan las manzanas. I like apples. In this construction, me is actually an indirect object pronoun meaning to me.
I like paella.
Me gusta la paella.
I like vegetables.
Me gustan las verduras.
I like to work. (Work is pleasing to me.)
Me gusta trabajar.
I don’t like flying (by plane). (Flying [by plane] is not pleasing to me.)
No me gusta volar en avión.
Indirect Object Pronouns
In order to talk about other people, replace me with a different indirect object pronoun. Here are the indirect object pronouns:
me - to me
te - to you (informal)
le - to him, to her
le - to you (formal)
nos - to us
os - to you (plural informal)
les - to them, to you (plural)
Do you like this tavern?
¿Te gusta esta taberna?
She likes the dress.
Le gusta el vestido.
We don’t like to work.
No nos gusta trabajar.
Do you like the mushrooms?
¿Te gustan los champiñones?
She likes the shoes.
Le gustan los zapatos.
We don’t like our jobs.
No nos gustan nuestros trabajos.
Clarifying Gustar
Because le can mean to him, to her, or to you (formal) and les can mean to them or to you (plural), sentences using gustar and these pronouns can be confusing. For example: Le gusta la comida peruana. In this sentence, who likes Peruvian food? (To whom is Peruvian food pleasing?) To him? To her? To you? In these cases a prepositional phrase with a is used to clarify who is doing the liking, or literally, who is being pleased. The indirect object pronoun remains before the verb. Often, this construction is used for emphasis, rather than clarification.
Juan likes Peruvian food.
A Juan le gusta la comida peruana.
You like Peruvian food.
A usted le gusta la comida peruana.
She likes Peruvian food.
A ella le gusta la comida peruana.
Juan likes Peruvian food, but me, I like Mexican food.
A Juan le gusta la comida peruana, pero a mí me gusta la comida mexicana. In this case a mí is used to emphasize that I like Mexican food (as opposed to Juan, who likes Peruvian food).
Do you like chicken?
¿A ti te gusta el pollo?
Julieta likes meatballs.
A Julieta le gustan las albóndigas.
I don’t like the theater.
A mí no me gusta el teatro.
My parents don’t like my boyfriend.
A mis padres no les gusta mi novio.
Using Caer Bien
When talking about liking (or disliking) people, using gustar can be tricky. To say No me gusta or Me gusta about someone can imply romantic feeling, or mean that the person is or isn’t your “type.” Similarly, the verb querer can be tricky because to say te quiero means I love you or I want you, thereby expressing fairly strong feelings on the part of the speaker.
Luckily you have the expressions caer bien and caer mal at your disposal. The verb caer is a regular -er verb that literally means to fall, but changes meaning when used with bien (well) or mal (badly). Literally, Me cae bien means He falls well to me. But it is used to say I am fond of him or I like him. Remember that caer bien follows similar rules of agreement as gustar except that the subject usually goes at the beginning of the sentence.
I’m fond of Juan.
Juan me cae bien.
I don’t like this guy.
A mí este tipo me cae mal. (You can use no caer bien instead of caer mal to soften the blow.)
I’m not very fond of the professor.
El profesor no me cae bien.
Matilde is fond of her sister-in-law.
A Matilde le cae bien su cuñada.
He doesn’t like his mother-in-law.
Le cae mal su suegra.
Other Verbs That Behave like Gustar
Spanish has several additional verbs that behave like gustar. These verbs also use the construction: indirect object pronoun + verb + subject. Once you learn the trick of using gustar you’ll be able to greatly expand your vocabulary.
to love (something)
encantar
I love ice cream.
¡Me encanta el helado!
Elena loves sweets. Molestar means to annoy or to bother.
A Elena le encantan los dulces.
Does the smoke bother you?
¿Te molesta el humo?
to appear or to seem
parecer (Can also be used to express preference. It is a little different from the other example verbs in that an opinion with parecer must be followed by bien (fine), mal (bad), or an adjective.
What do you think?
¿Qué te parece? (Literally: How does it seem to you?)
It seems fine.
Me parece bien.
The food seems good.
La comida me parece buena.
The guy appears normal.
El chico me parece normal.
to have left (over)
quedar is used to talk about location, but when used with the indirect object pronoun, quedar means: to have left (over).
I don’t have any cake left.
No me queda nada del pastel.
Do you have any cell phone minutes left?
¿Te quedan minutos en tu celular?
to be lacking something or to be missing or to still need something
faltar
We’re missing one person.
Nos falta una persona.
Are you going to buy the house?
¿Vas a comprar la casa?
No, I still need five thousand euros.
No, me faltan cinco mil euros.
