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Verbos como gustar

The way that different groups organize and understand their realities is often revealed in how meaning in encoded in their languages. For example, in English, we say:

For English speakers the verb “to like” is something that you bestow on an entity (person, thing, place, concept, etc.)

In Spanish “liking” is not something that one does, but rather the entity possesses a quality that affects the individual or individuals:

In these constructions, the entity that possesses the quality is the grammatical subject (LA CLASE DE ESPANOL) must agree with the verb (GUSTA) and then an indirect object (ME) signals to whom the entity is pleasing.

So if we have a plural entity LOS PERROS as the subject, the verb needs to agree. GUSTAN and ME still conveys to whom dogs are pleasing:

If an action (or an event or state of being) is the subject of the sentence, the verb is always conjugated in the 3rd person singular:

Obviously Spanish allows us a full range of indirect object pronouns in addition to ME so that we can express to whom something is pleasing:

When you ask someone if they agree with a statement that uses GUSTAR-like verb, you must use A and one of the following pronouns:

These pronouns are also used for emphasis, when you are marking a difference in opinion:

You should be familiar with the following verbs, which often used in the same way as GUSTAR:

• encantar
• fascinar
• convencer
• aburrir
• impresionar
• interesar
• estimular
• deprimir
• molestar
• preocupar
• sorprender
• importar
• parecer bien/mal