Dec
29
Verbs like “gustar”
Gustar is one of the first verbs you learn when you start studying Spanish. But it’s the type of verb that frequently trips up English speakers because of the way it is conjugated. With gustar, the person that would be the subject in English becomes the indirect object in Spanish. So, I like chocolate in English becomes me gusta chocolate (literally, “chocolate is pleasing to me”) in Spanish.
Everyone who takes a beginner’s Spanish course learns this verb and how it works. But what about all the other Spanish verbs that operate exactly the same way? There are quite a few. You may already know several of these verbs but were you aware that they operated like gustar?
Here’s a list of verbs like gustar:
Photo: “Mint chocolate cupcake bear” by Amigurumi, CC license.
agradar (to like)caer bien (to make a good impression)
caer mal (to make a bad impression)
convenir (to suit, to be suitable)
costar trabajo (to be difficult)
dar asco (to disgust)
disgustar (to upset)
doler (to hurt)
encantar (to love, to adore)
enfadar (to get angry)
extrañar (to surprise)
faltar (to lack, to be missing)
fascinar (to fascinate)
hacer falta (to need)
importar (to matter)
impresionar (to impress)
interesar (to interest)
molestar (to bother
parecer (to seem, to appear)
preocupar (to worry)
quedar (to have left)
sobrar (to have in excess)
sorprender (to surprise)
Rule to remember: What would be considered the subject in English turns into the indirect object (me, te, le, nos, os, les) in Spanish. Therefore, the verb in Spanish must agree with the subject of the sentence, not the indirect object.
For example:
John is fascinated by cars. A Juan, le fascinan los coches.
He likes Spaniards. Le caen bien los españoles.
The verbs fascinar and caer are conjugated in the plural because they are connected to the subject of the sentence, which are “coches” and “españoles.”
molestar doesn’t work exactly like gustar:
Me gusta a mi hermano.
Le molesto a mi hermano.
They’re similar, but not identical.
¡Hola Manutd!
¿Cómo te va? Regarding molestar, it fits the pattern because it falls into that category of verbs that require the use of an indirect object pronoun. At first glance your example may seem like it doesn’t follow the rule, but in reality it does. It just doesn’t seem that way because you used the first person singular. But take the same verb and use a different scenario. A Javier, le molestan los pájaros (Javier is bothered by birds. Birds annoy Javier.)
By the way, be careful when using “gustar” in reference to people. If a native Spanish speaker were to say to you “me gustas” (“I like you”) it is commonly understood that they are expressing their interest in you, i.e. to like someone in a romantic, non-platonic way.
Thanks for stopping by and leaving this comment. You made me think more closely about Spanish grammar, a topic I greatly enjoy.