The focus of today's lesson will be "verbs like gustar." But... what is gustar like?!
The Spanish verb gustar describes the concept of "liking" someone or something. In contrast to English, where we'd say "We" (the subject) "like cheese" (the object), in Spanish, whatever "we like" becomes the subject that projects the action "onto us." This is similar to how the English verb "to please" functions, e.g., "Cheese pleases us," where "the cheese" carries out the action of "pleasing" (us). For an in-depth exploration of this topic, we recommend this two-part lesson on Gustar vs. "To Like": A Difference in Perception. In the meantime, we'll give you a few tips regarding conjugating the verb gustar and verbs that act in a similar fashion.
1. An indirect object pronoun (me (to me), te (to you), le (to him/her/formal "you"), nos (to us), os (informal plural "to you"), and les ("to them" or plural "to you")) is used to indicate who is "being pleased," or, in English, the person who "likes" someone or something.
2. Regardless of tense, the verb gustar is conjugated in accordance with the Spanish subject (what is "being liked" or "pleasing").
3. If the subject is a noun, the definite article is used (el, la, los, las, which mean "the").
4. Optionally, a phrase with a (to) + a prepositional pronoun (mí (me), ti (you), él (him), ella (her), usted (formal "you"), nosotros (we), vosotros (informal plural "you"), or ustedes (plural "you")) can be added before or after the verb for emphasis. A direct object may also be introduced with a.
Armed with this information, let's look at a few examples:
A mí me gustan las hamburguesas.
I like hamburgers.
Caption 11, Español para principiantes Los colores
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Me gustas.
I like you.
Caption 44, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa Capítulo 4 - Part 12
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¡A las niñas grandes les gustan los coches deportivos, les gusta el dinero, les gusta bailar!
Big girls like sports cars, they like money, they like "bailar"!
Captions 22-23, Extr@: Extra en español Ep. 3 - Sam aprende a ligar - Part 3
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In accordance with our tips, in all of these examples, the indirect object pronoun indicates or agrees with who is "liking"/"being pleased," with me being "I" and les agreeing with the direct object, las niñas grande. The verb gustar, on the other hand, agrees with who or what "pleases"/"is liked" in English: the plural gustan with las hamburguesas and los coches deportivos, gustas with the implied tú (you), and gusta with el dinero and the infinitive bailar.
Now that we've recalled how gustar functions, we bet you're dying to know Yabla's Top Ten Verbs Like Gustar in the sense of the "reversal" of the roles of the traditional subject and object. Let's take a look.
Although this verb is most often translated as just "hurt(s)," it might help you to think of the more literal translations for the examples below: "My legs hurt (me)" and "your head hurts (you)," respectively.
¡Me duelen las piernas!
My legs hurt!
Caption 45, Extr@: Extra en español Ep. 3 - Sam aprende a ligar - Part 1
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Cuando tú estás enfermo, te duele la cabeza,
When you're ill, your head hurts,
Captions 32-33, El Aula Azul Las Profesiones - Part 2
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Note that as gustar can be translated as "to like," encantar is most often translated as "to love." However, it might behoove you to think of the English word "enchant(s)" to help remember the Spanish structure, e.g. "Feathers enchant me."
Me encantan las plumas.
I love feathers.
Caption 33, Ariana Cena especial
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Aquí, a los alemanes les encanta sentarse afuera
Here, Germans love to sit outside
Caption 21, Venezolanos por el mundo Zoraida en Alemania - Part 2
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Es una ciudad que me fascina,
It's a city that fascinates me
Caption 16, Venezolanos por el mundo Gio en Barcelona
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y me fascinaba perderme entre sus calles
and it fascinated me to get lost in its streets
Caption 11, Venezolanos por el mundo Gio en Barcelona
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An alternative translation for this second caption might be: "and I loved getting lost in its streets."
While "need" is the most often-heard translation for the verb hacer falta, you can think of the following examples with "to be necessary for" to more closely imitate their Spanish structure, i.e., "the only thing that's necessary for us" and "Those songs are necessary for me."
lo único que nos hace falta es una voz líder.
the only thing we need is a lead singer.
Caption 31, X6 1 - La banda - Part 3
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Me hacen falta esas cantadas
I need those songs
Caption 66, Félix Carlos Hello Chamo
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While the English verbs "to matter (to)" and "be important (to)" work much like the Spanish verb gustar, importar plus an indirect object pronoun can also occasionally be translated as "to care about."
Me importás vos.
You matter to me.
Caption 23, Yago 6 Mentiras - Part 2
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¡Mis hijos me importan!
I care about my children!
Caption 60, Yago 3 La foto - Part 6
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This second example could also be translated more literally as "My children matter to me!"
The verb interesar can be translated as either "to interest" or "be interested." For example, if you say, Me interesa la ciencia, either the more literal "science interests me" or "I'm interested in science" suffice as possible translations. Let's see a couple of examples, noting the inclusion of the word atraer (to attract), which also functions like gustar.
no me atraen ni me interesan...
they neither attract me nor interest me...
Caption 8, Enanitos Verdes Amores Lejanos
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si les interesa saber cómo es la cumbia, en Yabla pueden encontrar un video
if you're interested in knowing what cumbia is like, you can find a video on Yabla
Captions 90-91, Cleer y Lida El Carnaval de Barranquilla - Part 2
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Since the English verb "to bother" works much like the Spanish molestar, the translations for sentences with the verb molestar plus an indirect object pronoun should seem pretty straightforward for English speakers.
¿Por qué te molestan tanto?
Why do they bother you so much?
Caption 3, Guillermina y Candelario La Peluqueria del Mar - Part 2
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¡No, no me molestas para nada! -Adiós.
No, you don't bother me at all! -Goodbye.
Caption 48, Yago 9 Recuperación - Part 1
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In our first example below, a more literal translation would be "it seems cool to them." However, "to think" is a very common translation for parecer(le) a alguien (to seem to someone). For more on the verb parecer, check out Clase Aula Azul's seven-part series on El verbo parecer as well as Doctora Consejo's video on Parecer y parecerse.
Están muy interesados en la música, les parece chévere.
They're very interested in the music, they think it's cool.
Caption 54, Cleer Entrevista a Lila
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¿Te parezco una mujer?
Do I seem like a woman to you?
Caption 29, Muñeca Brava 8 Trampas - Part 1
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When you want to talk about "being worried" or "worrying" yourself, the reflexive verb preocuparse (to worry) is the one to choose. But in the case that something worries you, the verb preocupar plus an indirect object pronoun can help you to describe this.
Sí, te preocupa. -¿A mí qué me preocupa? -¿Morena?
Yes, it worries you. -What worries me? -Morena?
Caption 32, Yago 9 Recuperación - Part 4
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para hablarles de un tema que parece del pasado pero que nos preocupa a todos en el presente.
to talk to you about a topic that seems [to be] from the past but which concerns us all in the present.
Captions 28-29, La Sub30 Familias - Part 1
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In literal terms, quedar plus an indirect object pronoun can be thought of as "what remains" or "is left for" someone or something. Let's take a look at this verb in action:
Como: Todavía me queda tiempo.
Like: I still have time.
Caption 110, Escuela BCNLIP Clase con Javi: el futuro - Part 10
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todavía nos quedan muchos más prefijos para ver.
we still have a lot more prefixes left to look at.
Caption 52, Carlos explica Los prefijos en español - Part 4
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Note that this very same verb can also refer to how something "looks on" or "fits" someone when accompanied by adjectives such as bien, mal, grande, etc.
Que me pasa a mí es que los guantes siempre me quedan grandes.
What happens to me is that the gloves are always too big for me.
Caption 78, 75 minutos Del campo a la mesa - Part 5
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With this final example, we conclude our list of Yabla's Top Ten Verbs Like Gustar. While these are just a handful of the many verbs that function like gustar in Spanish, we hope that this lesson has aided your understanding of how they work and look forward to your suggestions and comments.
Are you familiar with the body parts in Spanish? Do you know how to say words like "hands," "legs," or "face" in Spanish? Let's see how to write and pronounce las partes del cuerpo en español (the parts of the body in Spanish), from head to toe!
Inclina tu cabeza hacia atrás,
Tilt your head back;
Caption 19, Bienestar con Elizabeth - Rehabilitación vestibular
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Pelo is a very common word for "hair." However, keep in mind that pelo can refer to any kind of body hair, while the word cabello only refers to the hair on one's head.
Vale, pero los dos tenemos el pelo negro, vale, muy bien, perfecto.
OK, but we both have black hair, OK, very good, perfect.
Caption 12, Clase Aula Azul - El verbo parecer
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Para mi cabello, aquí tengo mi cepillo de cabello
For my hair, I have here my hair brush
Caption 27, Ana Carolina - Artículos de aseo personal
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Keep in mind that the Spanish word for the inner ear is el oído while the external ear (what you actually see) is called la oreja.
Las orejas son partes del cuerpo
The ears are parts of the body
que se encuentran en cada lateral de la cabeza
that are found on each side of the head
y que forman la parte exterior del oído.
and that form the external part of the inner ear.
Captions 53-55, Clara explica - El cuerpo
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Some of the most often used parts of the body in Spanish are placed in our face. Let's take a look.
There are two words for face in Spanish: la cara and el rostro. However, while cara is mostly used to talk about the physical part of the body, rostro is often used to talk in a sort of poetic, abstract way about someone's face. Let's see how to pronounce both words:
Esa mañana, al lavarse la cara,
That morning, while washing his face,
Caption 15, Aprendiendo con Carlos - El microrrelato
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Pinto mi rostro de mascarada
I paint my face in masquerade
Caption 20, Alejandra Guzmán - Porque no estás aquí
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Dio un suspiro y un golpe en la frente,
She let out a sigh and banged her forehead,
Caption 55, Cleer - Rafael Pombo y "Pastorcita"
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Me encantaría tener los ojos azules.
I would love to have blue eyes.
Caption 34, Clara explica - El cuerpo
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Ahora voy a delinear las cejas con un lápiz color café.
Now I am going to line the eyebrows with a brown-colored pencil.
Caption 53, Maquillaje - Con Cata y Cleer
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Después tenemos las pestañas.
Then we have the eyelashes.
Caption 21, Marta de Madrid - El cuerpo - La cabeza
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Cuando una mujer hablaba de mis mejillas,
When a woman talked about my cheeks,
Caption 23, Los Años Maravillosos - Capítulo 3
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que podía tener sangre por la nariz.
that he might have a bloody nose.
Caption 15, Juan Sánchez - Personajes
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Esta... esta boca quiere decir que está como un poco...
This... this mouth wants to say that it's like a bit...
Caption 67, Bucaramanga, Colombia - Pintor callejero
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Tanto te quise besar que me duelen los labios
I wanted to kiss you so much that my lips hurt
Caption 2, Shakira - Sale el Sol
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para que los dientes estén más fuertes
so that the teeth become stronger
Caption 61, Los médicos explican - Consejos: dientes de niños
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Esta letra la pronuncias poniendo la lengua junto al paladar
You pronounce this letter by putting the tongue next to the palate
Caption 61, Ana Carolina - Mejorando la pronunciación
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Después tenemos la barbilla.
Then we have the chin.
Caption 70, Marta de Madrid - El cuerpo - La cabeza
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Vas a bajar el mentón hacia tu cuello
You're going to lower your chin toward your neck,
Caption 28, Bienestar con Elizabeth - Relajación
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La cabeza es la parte superior del cuerpo
The head is the top part of the body
que está situada sobre el cuello
that is situated on the neck
Captions 49-50, Clara explica - El cuerpo
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y a Chibchacum lo puso a cargar la Tierra en sus hombros.
and forced Chibchacum to carry the Earth on his shoulders.
Caption 57, Aprendiendo con Carlos - América precolombina - El mito de Bochica
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Esta que tengo en mis brazos se llama Poeska.
This one I have in my arms is named Poeska.
Caption 21, Fermín y los gatos - Mi gata Poeska
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Vamos a mover codos,
We're going to move [our] elbows,
que normalmente no movemos esta articulación.
as we don't normally move this joint.
Captions 15-16, Bienestar con Elizabeth - Activar las articulaciones
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Of all the names of body parts in Spanish, this is probably the most unique. The word muñeca indeed means not only "wrist" but "doll" as well, so keep that in mind when you need to remember how to say "wrist" in Spanish.
sufren mucha lesión en codos, en muñecas y en hombros.
they suffer a lot of injuries on [their] elbows, wrists and shoulders.
Caption 28, Adícora, Venezuela - Los fisioterapeutas
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los voy a colocar en mis manos,
I'm going to place them in my hands,
Caption 30, Ana Carolina - Gérmenes
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Tiene agujeros donde se colocan los dedos,
It has holes where you place your fingers,
Caption 38, Karla e Isabel - Instrumentos musicales
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Si tienes unas piernas fuertes y ganas de andar,
If you have some strong legs and feel like walking,
Caption 102, Blanca - Cómo moverse en Barcelona
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¡Vamos! Doble sus rodillas.
Let's go! Bend your knees.
Caption 24, Extr@: Extra en español - Ep. 3 - Sam aprende a ligar
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unos zapatos para los pies del bebé.
some shoes for the baby's feet.
Caption 35, Conversaciones en el parque - Cap. 4: Regalos para un nuevo bebé
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También, este... son frecuentes en lesionarse [sic] mucho las articulaciones metatarsianas
Also, um... they frequently hurt their metatarsal joints a lot,
que son los dedos del pie,
which are the toes,
Captions 25-26, Adícora, Venezuela - Los fisioterapeutas
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And with this last term, we have come to the end of this lesson about Spanish body parts. We encourage you to practice the names of all of these partes del cuerpo, and don't forget to send us your comments and suggestions. ¡Hasta la próxima!
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