The verb gustar can be perplexing for non-native speakers, particularly those who speak English. After spending a significant amount of time learning Spanish verb conjugations, suddenly encountering a completely different set of verbs that not only lack uniform conjugations but also reverse the sentence structure can be challenging. To aid those confused by verbs like gustar, here is an explanation that aims to enhance understanding and hopefully foster appreciation for its structure.
What is the meaning of the verb gustar?
Roughly translated to English, the verb gustar means “to like.” However, this translation is an approximation of what the verb truly expresses. A better comprehension of the verb gustar is “to be pleased by.”
Why do we interpret this verb differently in Spanish, and is there no direct way to say “I like” in Spanish?
The disparity in interpretation between Spanish and English concerning gustar has to do with how sensations and experiences are perceived in Spanish and most European languages. In English, “liking” something implies an “active” role for the subject, as they consciously choose to feel a certain way towards an object or experience. On the other hand, Spanish regards “liking” passively, as a sensation or experience to be enjoyed or pleased by.
For example, while one would say “I like coffee” in English, Spanish focuses on how coffee makes the person feel—a pleasurable sensation. Hence, in Spanish, one would say “me gusta el café” (coffee pleases me).
Thus, reading a book implies active participation in the activity involving the book (“yo leo un libro”), while liking a book means enjoying the sensation the book brings to the reader (“me gusta el libro”).
This nature of the verb gustar has led to its structure being entirely different from regular verb constructions. The receiver of the sensation becomes the indirect object of the verb gustar, receiving the sensation, rather than being an active subject (as in English).
What is the structure of gustar, and why is it so distinct from other verbs?
The beauty of gustar lies in its unique construction: “a mí me gusta <something>,” where <> indicates the subject (the one inducing pleasure) in relation to the indirect object (the person who feels something or “likes” something).
For instance, “a mí me gusta el café” follows the structure of subject, verb, object, but in reverse:
- “a mí me” (to me)
- “Gusta” (to feel pleased by)
- “El café” (the doer or subject of the sentence that brings about the pleasure)
While in English, the sentence would be constructed as “I like coffee” (I > subject/liking, like > verb, coffee > object), Spanish would express it more as “el café me gusta” or “me gusta el café” (the coffee > subject/liking, pleases > verb, to me, i.e., the coffee pleases me).
Why, then, does Spanish use “a mi me,” “a ti te,” and so on? Wouldn’t “a mi” be sufficient?
This is related to the tendency for redundancy and emphasis in Spanish, where the object is replaced by its pronoun while still being retained in the sentence. When “a mí” is already placed before the verb, one might wonder why “me” is necessary. It serves to emphasize the “to me” in the sentence “a mi me gusta el café.”
“Me” is a clitic pronoun that is not entirely needed if “a mí” already represents “to me” (as in “to me pleases the coffee” or “I like coffee”). However, in a twist to the already winding tale of gustar, it would be incorrect to omit the “me” in the structure “a mi me gusta el café” since the entire indirect object structure appears before the verb gustar.
Nonetheless, it is possible to drop “a mí,” but you must still retain the pronoun “me” when discussing your preferences. “Me gusta el café” is acceptable, but “a mí gusta el café” is considered incorrect. (You can drop “a mí” but not the pronoun “me”). Further information on this redundancy can be found here and here.
What are other verbs that follow this structure?
There is a list of verbs similar to gustar that is typically taught in Spanish classes. You can find a list to explore here.
NOTE:
It is interesting to note that English has still retained vestiges of this use. For instance, it is common to say “Litter on the road disgusts me”. The word gust in English is now obsolete but some forms like disgust still persist and retain the same structure as their Spanish counterpart – Gustar.
