Gustar Flashcards
to like
to please
to fancy
to enjoy
to taste
I really fancy your cousin. What’s his name?
Gustar
Me gusta mucho tu primo. ¿Cómo se llama?
I like
me gusta(n)
For emphasis: (A mí)
You like
te gusta(n)
For emphasis: (A ti)
He/she/you (formal) likes
le gusta(n)
For emphasis: (A ella/él/usted)
We like
nos gusta(n)
For emphasis: (A nosotros)
You (plural) like
os gusta(n)
For emphasis: (A vosotros)
They/you (plural) like
les gusta(n)
For emphasis: (A ellos/ellas/ustedes)
When to use n
Instead of changing according to the pronoun, gustar changes depending on the quantity of the noun that follows it. This is why you’d say gusta for singular objects and gustan for plurals.
* Plural nouns
* more than 1 noun
when there is no n on the gustar?
- Infinitivo (E.g. Jugar)
- 2 infinitivos (E.g. Salir and bailar)
- Sustntivo en singular (e.g. el futbol)
Structure
We like fireworks. Literally: Fireworks are pleasing to us.
object pronoun + verb + subject
Nos gustan los fuegos artificiales.
Gustar regular form
Jaime likes me but I like you
Yo: Gusto
Tu: Gustas
él/ Ella/ Usted: Gusta
Nosotros (as): Gustamos
Vosotros (as): Gustáis
Ellos/ Ellas/ Ustedes: Gustan
A Jaime le gusto pero a mí me gustas tú
The conjugation of the verb gustar is still dictated by the object of affection, but the problem is that your mind will want to connect the verb endings with the subject.
to love something)
Daniel loved the game.
Encantar
A Daniel le encantó el partido.
Amar is more associated with the love of people while encantar tends to be used more in reference to things
to cost
It’s difficult for me to go up the hill.
Costar
Me cuesta subir la cuesta.
The verb costar can be used in two different senses in Spanish. The first possible usage has to do with money:
Esas zapatillas le costaron a Sara cuarenta dólares. (Those tennis shoes cost Sara forty dollars.)
Here we’re looking at the third person plural in the simple past tense because zapatillas (tennis shoes) is plural.
The second usage of this verb refers to difficulty:
The literal translation is: It costs me to go up the hill.
As you can see, the third person singular form, cuesta, can also be used as a noun to mean “hill.”
to be a bother
Our roommate’s music bothers us so much
Molestar
La música de nuestro compañero de cuarto nos molesta muchísimo.
This false friend has been the cause of much confusion for many English speakers. The correct Spanish equivalent for “molest” is actually acosar.
Music here is singular, so molestar is also singular.
remain
I only have three more classes left before I graduate.
Direct translation: Only for me remain three classes more and already I graduate
Quedar
Sólo me quedan tres asignaturas más y ya me gradúo
Quedar can also be used mean “to meet.” Here in Spain, it’s common to say:
¿A qué hora hemos quedado? (What time are we going to meet at?)
The literal translation of this sentence reads like: “At what time have we met?”
Oddly enough, this phrase uses the present perfect to refer to a future event. When translated directly to English it’s confusing since it sounds like something that has already happened.
to be left over
There is a lot of food left over from the party that we had the other da
Sobrar
Nos ha sobrado mucha comida de la fiesta que hicimos el otro día.
Note that instead of han sobrado (which would be the plural version of the present perfect) we have chosen ha which is singular in reference to comida (food).
Also note that in Spanish they don’t use the verb “to have” when speaking of throwing a party like we do in English. Instead they use the verb hacer which means “to do or to make.”
In more slang terms, sobrar can be used to say that something is unnecessary. For example, if someone makes a rude or out-of-place remark in a group someone might say something like this:
Ese comentario sobra. (That remark is unnecessary.)
to be important to
His family used to be important to him but now only his friends are.
Importar
- “Antes la familia le importaba mucho pero ahora sólo le importan los amigos.”
This verb, like many Spanish verbs, has a couple of different meanings including “to import” and “to be of interest.” However, the most common usage in Spanish is “to be important to.”
In this sentence where we move from the past imperfect to the simple present, the verb importar changes from singular to plural to accommodate first la familia which is singular and then los amigos which is plural.
to bore
Baseball really bores me.
Aburrir
El béisbol me aburre mucho.
Besides the common meaning of “to bore,” this verb can also be used to mean “to tire,” “to annoy” or “to irritate.” In its reflexive form (aburrirse) the meaning changes to mean “to become bored” in a general sense. Here’s an example of the non-reflexive usage of this verb:
The third person singular is used here to refer to the singular noun béisbol. Remember that in cases like this, the article must be added before the noun (el béisbol) unlike in English where we simply say “baseball.”
