Gustar

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Gustar Company
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• Youve heard and probably used me gusta for a
  long time. Maybe youve even used me gustan
  and used it correctly. But here youre going to
  get the reason.
• Me gusta el gato. -- I like the cat.
• Me gustan los gatos. -- I like the cats.
• Te gusta el perro. -- You like the dog.
• Te gustan los perros. -- You like the dogs.
• When the thing you like is singular, you use
  gusta. When the thing you like is plural, you
  use gustan.

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• The reason for gusta and gustan is that
  youre not literally saying, I like the cat.
  What youre literally saying is The cat is
  pleasing to me.
• Me gusta el gato.
• The cat is pleasing to me.
• (Good English) I like the cat.
• So the thing you like is actually the subject of
  the sentence . . .

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• . . . and the person doing the liking is
  actually the object. The INDIRECT object.
• Me gusta el gato. I like the cat.
• Te gusta el gato. You like the cat.
• Le gusta el gato. He/She likes the cat.
• Nos gusta el gato. We like the cat.
• Os gusta el gato. Yall like the cat.
• Les gusta el gato. They like the cat.
• Note that the verb doesnt change at all. The
  only thing that can make the verb change is the
  thing thats being liked
• Le gusta el gato. He/She likes the cat.
• Le gustan los gatos. -- He/She likes the cats.

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• Click here to go to a brief practice exercise.

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• OK, think you have gustar nailed down? Thats
  good, because we have some similar verbs.
• Encantar is easy, because it means love
• Me gusta la vainilla, I like vanilla,
• pero me encanta el chocolate. but I love
  chocolate.
• Encantar actually means to enchant
• El chocolate me encanta.
• Chocolate enchants me.
• (Good English) I love
  chocolate.
• So encantar works exactly like gustar.
• Note Encantar is usually used with things. To
  love a person is querer or amar. Te quiero
  or Te amo for I love you.

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• There are a few other verbs that work that way,
  where whats the subject in English is the object
  in Spanish and whats the object in English is
  the subject in Spanish.
• Nos quedan dos semanas.
• Literally, two weeks remain to us.
• Whats the good English translation for the above
  sentence?
• We have two weeks left.
• What would we have one week left be?
• Nos queda una semana.
• You have to use queda because semana is
  singular.
• How would you say, I have one week left?
• Me queda una semana.

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• Now look at this one
• Me falta un dólar.
• Literally, One dollar is lacking to me.
• What would that be in good English?
• Im short one dollar.
• How would you say, Im short two dollars?
• Me faltan dos dólares.
• You have to say faltan because dólares is
  plural, and what youre literally saying is two
  dollars ARE lacking to me.
• How would you say, Hes short two dollars?
• Le faltan dos dólares.

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• The long and short of it is that with these
  four verbsgustar, encantar, quedar, and
  faltarwhats the subject in English is the
  object in Spanish and vice versa. You have to
  remember to make the verb agree with the thing
  being liked or loved, or the thing that the
  person has left, or the thing that the person is
  short.

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• Click here to go to a brief practice exercise.
• Click here to go to your homework.