How to say that you like or love things and people

1. Likes and loves How to say that you like or love things and people

2. In Spanish we use the verb ‘gustar’ to say we like something. But... Gustar does NOT mean ‘to like’. It means ‘to please’. This means that when we say we like something in Spanish, we’re really saying that somethings pleases us: Me gusta el chocolate = Chocolate pleases me.

3. This means that the sentence structure is different to English. Look at this sentence: I like chocolate. Who or what is the SUBJECT of the sentence? Who or what is the OBJECT of the sentence? Look at this sentence: Me gusta el chocolate. Who or what is the SUBJECT of the sentence? Who or what is the OBJECT of the sentence?

4. In order to express what things we like in spanish we need to take the following steps: 1. Take the English sentence and consider how it will be expressed in Spanish e.g I like bread = Bread pleases me 2. Decide which words are the subject (S) and the object(O) of the new sentence. Bread pleases me - Bread = S Me = O . 3. If the subject is an object or thing – look it up in Spanish e.g. Bread=el pan (NOTE= we must include the article in Spanish el/la/los/las) 4. Decide who or what is the object of the sentence and choose the correct pronoun from this list: me= me te=you le=him/her/it/you (f) nos= us os= you les= them/you In the case of the sentence above we need to choose me. 5. Finally, choose which form of the verb gustar you need according to who or what is the subject of your sentence: gusto= I please gustas = you please gusta=He/she/It pleases gustamos = We please gustáis= you please (P) gustan=they please 6. Put everything together ( object + verb + subject) = Me gusta el pan. or you could say ( subject +object +verb)= El pan me gusta.

5. In order to say which people we like, or to talk about named people liking things or other people follow these steps: To talk about a named person liking a thing/object/action or another named person: e.g. Peter likes salt= Salt pleases Peter. Peter likes Emma= Emma pleases Peter. Follow the steps as explained before BUT at the start of your sentence put an ‘a’ e.g a Peter le gusta el sal. a Peter le gusta Emma. We have to do this as it is called a ‘personal a’ – a letter which we must put in front of a person if they are the object of a sentence. 2. To talk about an unnamed person liking another unnamed person: Just follow two simple steps: A. Decide who is the object of the sentence and write down the correct pronoun. B. Look at the subject of the verb and choose the right form of gustar. We like him = He pleases us = Nos gusta She likes me = I please her = Le gusto

6. Example: He likes sugar in Spanish becomes Sugar pleases him. Sugar pleases him. subject object 1. ‘Him’ is the object of the sentence so the correct pronoun is ‘le’. 2.The subject of the sentence is sugar which in Spanish is el azúcar. 3. As sugar is the subject of the sentence, the correct form of gustar to use will be gusta (it pleases). Put the whole thing together and you get: Le gusta el azúcar

7. Example: We like to eat. in Spanish becomes To eat pleases us. To eat pleases us. subject object 1. ‘Us’ is the object of the sentence so the correct pronoun is ‘nos’. 2.The subject of the sentence is to eat which in Spanish is comer. 3. As to eat is the subject of the sentence, the correct form of gustar to use will be gusta (it pleases). Put the whole thing together and you get: Nos gusta comer.

8. Now you try: They like food in Spanish becomes Food pleases them. Food pleases them. subject object 1. is the object of the sentence so the correct pronoun is Them les. 2.The subject of the sentence is which in Spanish is . food el alimento 3. As to eat is the subject of the sentence, the correct form of gustar to use will be Put the whole thing together and you get: gusta Les gusta el alimento.

9. Now you try: I like you in Spanish becomes You please me You please me. subject object 1. is the object of the sentence so the correct pronoun is Me Me. 2.The subject of the sentence is which in Spanish is . You included in the verb 3. As ‘You’ is the subject of the sentence, the correct form of gustar to use will be Put the whole thing together and you get: gustas Me gustas.

10. To say that you love something (not in a romantic sense but as in to really like something) you use the verb “ Encantar” which means ‘ To delight’ . It works in exactly the same way as gustar, meaning we have to say that something ‘delights’ us: I love chicken = Chicken delights me = El pollo me encanta. We love to eat = To eat delights us = Nos encanta comer. Encantar – to delight Encanto = I delight Encantas = You delight Encanta = He/She/It delights /You delight (form.sing.) Encantamos = We delight Encantáis = You delight (fam.pl) Encantan = They delight/ You delight (for.pl)

11. ¡ Ahora te toca a tí! Translate into English (also use pp30-31 to help you): Me gusta el agua mineral. Me gustan las hamburguesas. Nos gusta comer la ensalada. A Jorge le gustan las galletas. Le gusta la carne pero no le gustan el pescado. ¿ Te gusta el helado? A mi hermana le gustan las legumbres. Me encantan las tartas típicas de España. No me gusta tener hambre. Nos gusta beber mucho agua. Translate into Spanish: I like to eat seafood. I don’t like cereal. He loves Spanish sausage. Ana loves to drink orange juice. Do you like eggs? My mum likes fast food. We don’t like fresh fruit but we love salad. She likes to have toast for breakfast. Me gusta comer los mariscos. No me gustan las cereales. Le encanta el chorizo. A Ana le encanta beber el zumo de naranja. ¿ Te gustan los huevos? A mi madre le gusta la comida basura. No nos gusta la fruta fresca pero nos encanta la ensalada. Le gusta tomar la tostada para el desayuno.