Voted Best Answer
Apr 29, 2014 - 09:23 AM
Hi @Fabrice
You are absolutely right that with the Spanish verb "gustar" it is always the object that does the pleasing unlike in English. So we would usually use the 3rd person singular or third person plural with this verb in all the different tenses. So, for example, in the 3rd person singular it would be:
¿Te gusta el viaje? - Does the trip please you? (Or much better: Do you like/enjoy the trip?)
And plural:
¿Te gustan estos libros? - Do these books please you? (Better: Do you like/enjoy these books?)
Let’s see the same structure in the present progressive now:
Your trip is pleasing you (in English: You are enjoying your trip.) - Te está gustando tu viaje.
Or as a question:
Is your trip pleasing you? (Again, in better English: Are you enjoying your trip?) - ¿Te está gustando tu viaje?
So it's the third person singular of "estar" because we are talking about only "un viaje" - a trip So it's "está". And then "gustando" because "gustar" ends in -AR so the progressive form would take the -ANDO ending. And let's look at our previous example in the 3rd person plural - so that's if we are talking about several objects that are pleasing right now:
Are these books pleasing you? (better: Are you enjoying these books?) - ¿Te están gustando estos libros?
Here we use "están" because we are referring to "estos libros" - these books.
So your first two examples are absolutely correct:
¿Te están gustando los camarones?
Nos está gustando el auto
Now let's have a look at your last sentence. You want to translate:
They are liking us.
First we need the object that is being liked: "us". That is our subject in Spanish as you correctly identified:
(Nosotros) gustamos
Of course, it's not necessary to say the "nosotros" in Spanish.
And now we need to work out who likes us: "they". And this is our object in Spanish. Again, you got that completely right.
But, remember that the verb "gustar" needs an indirect object pronoun so it would be:
I like - ME gusta(n)
you(i) like - TE gusta(n)
he / she / you(r) - LE gusta(n)
we like - NOS gusta(n)
they / you(p,r) like - LES gusta(n)
And if you are learning European Spanish:
you(p) like - OS gusta(n) This is the form used for the vosotros / you(p), which is used in Spain only.
So:
They are liking us
Would be:
Les estamos gustando
And if you wanted to mention the subject it'd be:
Les estamos gustando nosotros / Nosotros les estamos gustando
With the verb "gustar", the subject normally goes at the end of the sentence and that's the structure we teach you in the program, but it can also be placed at the beginning of the phrase:
Me gusta ese auto / Ese auto me gusta
But don't worry! You will use "gustar" in the 3rd person sing/plu a lot more than in any other form. So make sure you got that one down.
I hope this helps!
You are absolutely right that with the Spanish verb "gustar" it is always the object that does the pleasing unlike in English. So we would usually use the 3rd person singular or third person plural with this verb in all the different tenses. So, for example, in the 3rd person singular it would be:
¿Te gusta el viaje? - Does the trip please you? (Or much better: Do you like/enjoy the trip?)
And plural:
¿Te gustan estos libros? - Do these books please you? (Better: Do you like/enjoy these books?)
Let’s see the same structure in the present progressive now:
Your trip is pleasing you (in English: You are enjoying your trip.) - Te está gustando tu viaje.
Or as a question:
Is your trip pleasing you? (Again, in better English: Are you enjoying your trip?) - ¿Te está gustando tu viaje?
So it's the third person singular of "estar" because we are talking about only "un viaje" - a trip So it's "está". And then "gustando" because "gustar" ends in -AR so the progressive form would take the -ANDO ending. And let's look at our previous example in the 3rd person plural - so that's if we are talking about several objects that are pleasing right now:
Are these books pleasing you? (better: Are you enjoying these books?) - ¿Te están gustando estos libros?
Here we use "están" because we are referring to "estos libros" - these books.
So your first two examples are absolutely correct:
¿Te están gustando los camarones?
Nos está gustando el auto
Now let's have a look at your last sentence. You want to translate:
They are liking us.
First we need the object that is being liked: "us". That is our subject in Spanish as you correctly identified:
(Nosotros) gustamos
Of course, it's not necessary to say the "nosotros" in Spanish.
And now we need to work out who likes us: "they". And this is our object in Spanish. Again, you got that completely right.
But, remember that the verb "gustar" needs an indirect object pronoun so it would be:
I like - ME gusta(n)
you(i) like - TE gusta(n)
he / she / you(r) - LE gusta(n)
we like - NOS gusta(n)
they / you(p,r) like - LES gusta(n)
And if you are learning European Spanish:
you(p) like - OS gusta(n) This is the form used for the vosotros / you(p), which is used in Spain only.
So:
They are liking us
Would be:
Les estamos gustando
And if you wanted to mention the subject it'd be:
Les estamos gustando nosotros / Nosotros les estamos gustando
With the verb "gustar", the subject normally goes at the end of the sentence and that's the structure we teach you in the program, but it can also be placed at the beginning of the phrase:
Me gusta ese auto / Ese auto me gusta
But don't worry! You will use "gustar" in the 3rd person sing/plu a lot more than in any other form. So make sure you got that one down.
I hope this helps!