Gustar & Co.
Understanding Spanish's 'Reverse' Verbs: A Complete Guide to Gustar and Similar Verbs
Table of Contents
Learning Objectives
- Identify the unique structure of verbs like 'gustar' in Spanish where the subject follows the verb and the object is actually an indirect object pronoun
- Practice conjugating 'gustar' and other similar verbs to match the subject that follows them
- Use indirect object pronouns correctly when expressing likes, interests, or preferences with 'gustar Co' verbs in Spanish sentences
- Differentiate between singular and plural verb conjugations when expressing likes or interests in Spanish using verbs like 'gustar'
- Create sentences in Spanish using 'gustar' with infinitives to express likes or preferences for activities
Introduction
When learners first encounter verbs like gustar, encantar, and interesar, they often find them puzzling. In many languages, saying “I like something” follows the pattern of subject + verb + object. However, Spanish uses a slightly different structure. The verb gustar is the prime example and belongs to a group sometimes called “Gustar & Co.” because they share a similar grammatical pattern. Below, you’ll find a thorough explanation and plenty of examples.
Why These Verbs Are Different
In English, you might say “I like the book.” That makes sense as I (the subject) like (the verb) the book (the object). With gustar, the literal meaning is closer to “the book pleases me.” So the order flips:
-
Subject (in Spanish sense): the book
-
Verb: pleases (gustar)
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Object (actually an indirect object in Spanish): me
The use of “me” here is not a direct object pronoun but an indirect one.
It’s a different way of thinking about who does what. Whenever you use gustar, you have:
-
An indirect object pronoun (who is pleased).
-
A verb (conjugated to agree with the thing that is pleasing).
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A subject (the thing that causes the feeling).
Basic Structure
The most common structure is:
- [Indirect Object Pronoun] + [verb] + [subject]
| Spanish | English | Information | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Me gusta la música | I like music | That translates to “Music pleases me.” In everyday usage, we simply say, “I like music,” but it’s good to keep the underlying structure in mind. |
Indirect Object Pronouns
These are the same pronouns you studied in Indirect Objects and Double Objects. They are:
| Person | Pronoun |
|---|---|
| yo (I) | me |
| tú (you) | te |
| él/ella/usted | le |
| nosotros | nos |
| vosotros | os |
| ellos/ustedes | les |
Conjugating 'Reverse' Verbs
Since the subject is actually "the thing being liked," this follows the basic rule of subject-verb agreement - the verb form must match whatever is pleasing. When you like one thing, you use a singular conjugation (gusta), and when you like multiple things, you use a plural conjugation (gustan).
| Spanish | English | Information | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Me gusta la película. | I like the movie. | One movie → gusta | |
| Me gustan las películas | I like movies | Multiple movies → gustan |
Recap
If you find it hard to remember why “película” uses “gusta” while “películas” uses “gustan,” recall what was explained in the “Nouns & Adjectives” article: the form of the noun (singular or plural) is important. Because the verb must agree with the noun’s number, a single movie (película) takes the singular form “gusta” and multiple movies (películas) take the plural form “gustan.”
Common 'Reverse' Verbs
“Gustar & Co.” includes various verbs that share this “reverse” perspective. They all need indirect object pronouns and conjugate based on the thing causing the feeling:
| Spanish Verb | Literal Translation | Common Usage |
|---|---|---|
| gustar | to be pleasing to | to like |
| encantar | to be enchanting to | to love (something) |
| interesar | to be interesting to | to interest |
| importar | to be important to | to matter |
| fascinar | to be fascinating to | to fascinate |
| doler | to be painful to | to hurt |
| parecer | to appear/seem to | to seem |
| Spanish | English | Information | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Me encanta la comida italiana. | I love Italian food. | Here, “la comida italiana” is the subject that enchants me. | |
| A María le interesan los libros de historia. | Maria is interested in history books. | Notice the plural libros → interesan (not “interesa”). | |
| ¿Te importa mi opinión? | Do you care about my opinion? | Another way of seeing it is: Is my opinion important to you? |
Who Likes What
Sometimes you want to specify exactly who is being pleased, interested, or enchanted. In that case, you use A + name/pronoun at the beginning:
• A mí me gusta el café.
• A Juan le encantan los perros.
• A ellos les interesa el arte moderno.
You can also use it to make sure listeners know who you’re talking about when using le or les, which can be ambiguous by itself. For example:
• Le gustan los gatos.
This could mean “He likes cats,” “She likes cats,” or “You (formal) like cats.” Adding A él, A ella, or A usted removes any doubt.
The Verb Form
One of the biggest challenges for beginners is remembering to match the verb form to the subject that follows it, not to the person who is experiencing the feeling. Let’s compare examples:
| Spanish | English | Information | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Me gusta el carro. | I like the car. | Singular subject: el carro → gusta | |
| Me gustan los carros. | I like cars. | Plural subject: los carros → gustan | |
| Nos encanta viajar. | We love to travel. | The subject here is “viajar,” an infinitive, treated as a singular concept → encanta |
Handling Multiple Verbs and Complex Sentences
Just like with other Spanish verbs, you might want to say you like or love doing something. In that case, an infinitive follows the verb:
• Me gusta nadar. → “I like to swim.”
• Nos interesa leer revistas de moda. → “We are interested in reading fashion magazines.”
• ¿Te molesta abrir la ventana? → “Does it bother you to open the window?”
Because an infinitive is considered singular, the verb stays in its third-person singular form (gusta, encanta, molesta, etc.).
When combining multiple infinitives, the same rule applies:
• Me gusta cocinar y escuchar música. → “I like to cook and listen to music.”
Both activities together still count as a single grouped entity in this context, so me gusta remains singular.
Remember:
When the subject is an activity (like "reading magazines"), it counts as one single action. Therefore, we always use the singular form of the verb (gusta, encanta, interesa, etc.).
Other Tenses
Even though these examples use the present tense (review Verbs & Present Tense), you can use them in any tense:
1. Me gustó la película.
• Past tense: “I liked the movie.”
• película is singular → gustó
2. Te encantaba la playa cuando eras niño.
• Imperfect tense: “You used to love the beach when you were a child.”
3. Les interesará el resultado de la prueba.
• Future tense: “They will be interested in the test result.”
The key rule remains the same in every tense. Match the verb form to the subject (the thing liked) and use the correct indirect object pronoun to indicate who experiences the feeling.
Additional Examples
| Spanish | English | Information | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nos gustan los animales, pero a Marcos no le gustan. | We like animals, but Marcos doesn't like them. | Notice how we said “a Marcos” to clarify who exactly is not a fan of animals. | |
| Les gusta la idea de viajar a España en verano. | They like the idea of traveling to Spain in the summer. | “La idea” is singular, so “les gusta” is also singular. | |
| A ella le molesta el ruido constante. | She is bothered by the constant noise. | “El ruido constante” is singular → le molesta |
Summary
“Gustar & Co.” verbs can feel backwards if you compare them directly to English. They all follow the structure:
( A + person/pronoun ) + [Indirect Object Pronoun] + [verb conjugated to match the subject] + [subject]
• The person experiencing the liking, loving, fascinating, or hurting is labeled by the indirect object pronoun (me, te, le, nos, os, les).
• The subject is the thing or activity causing the feeling. That’s the element that determines whether the verb is singular or plural.
• If you’re unsure who likes what, you can clarify with “A + name/pronoun” at the start.
Once you get used to viewing these structures as “something pleases me” or “something is interesting to me,” you’ll see the logic behind it. Reviewing Indirect Objects and practicing with real-life sentences helps. Try crafting your own examples and see if you can spot which noun is the subject in each.
Feel free to return to this guide any time you need a refresher. Practice is the best way to make this concept feel natural, and before long, you’ll be able to say me gusta (or me encantan, me interesa, etc.) without a second thought.