# le gustas, le gusto, me gusta



## Yashi

HI everyone,

 I'm super confused what these three sentences mean.

 1) como sabes que le gustas?

Does this mean How do you know that she likes you? or does it mean how do you know that you like her? The first seems correct. What does "le" refer to and what does "gustas" refer to? When I look at that sentence it sounds like it's saying How do you know that you like her because I thought gustas means "do you like" and "le" refers to her. 

 2) le gusto a Mary

 Does this mean I like Marry?

 3) Me gusta Mary

 Does this mean I like Mary also?

 hellppp!

 Thanks for your time

 Kudos,
 Yasha


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## Sheriff

1)¿Cómo sabes que le gustas?: How do you know that she likes you? NO other meaning!

2) Le gusto a Mary: Mary likes me


3) Me gusta Mary: I like Mary 

Gustar is a very difficult verb, the trick is not in the "me" o "le" but in the verb conjugation.

Good luck my friend! (You'll need it!)

Regards


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## Le Pamplemousse

Think of gustar as "to be pleasing to", rather than "to like".

Also, doesn't one need the personal 'a' in #3?

"Me gusta a Mary."


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## Dr. Quizá

Le Pamplemousse said:
			
		

> Think of gustar as "to be pleasing to", rather than "to like".
> 
> Also, doesn't one need the personal 'a' in #3?
> 
> "Me gusta a Mary."



No, eso es incorrecto; no confundas sujeto y complemento.


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## Le Pamplemousse

Por supuesto. Ya lo veo. Gracias.


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## Yashi

thanks guys I think.. I understand! hhe

why has gustarse been englishized so-to-speak? It's the opposite to other reflexive verbs.

Me gustas = I like you
Te quiero = I love you..
Me baño = I bathe..

why doesn't gustarse follow the norm instead of behaving like an english conjugated verb.


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## Banzai

Yashi said:
			
		

> thanks guys I think.. I understand! hhe
> 
> why has gustarse been englishized so-to-speak? It's the opposite to other reflexive verbs.
> 
> Me gustas = I like you
> Te quiero = I love you..
> Me baño = I bathe..
> 
> why doesn't gustarse follow the norm instead of behaving like an english conjugated verb.



"Gustarse" is just the verb that is used to express how we say in English "to like".  The _literal _translation, however (as mentioned by Le Pamplemousse), is "to be pleasing to". 

Despite first glance, it actually does behave in the same fashion as other Spanish reflexive verbs:

Me gustas = You are pleasing to me (a.k.a. I like you).  
Le gusto = I am pleasing to him/her (a.k.a. He/She likes me).  
-versus-
Me baño = I bathe myself
Me siento = I seat myself  
.... etc.  

¿Me entiendes?


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## Yashi

dang you're right... hahaha you little genious you  yes... I couldn't visual what Le Pamplemousse was saying until you put it into those examples.

seeing gustarse as "to like" really messed me up hehehe


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## jdenson

Sheriff said:
			
		

> 1)¿Cómo sabes que le gustas?: How do you know that she likes you? NO other meaning!
> 
> A minor point:
> ¿Cómo sabes que le gustas? means "how do you know that he/she likes you?" The meaning of "le" can only be known by the context.
> 
> JD


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## Banzai

Glad I could help! Hopefully it will come much easier to you now... I know it did for me once I figured that out. 
Good luck!


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## blancalaw

Yashi said:
			
		

> why doesn't gustarse follow the norm instead of behaving like an english conjugated verb.



If it did, learning Spanish would be too easy     Like I always tell my students learning Spanish, "they say it that way because Spanish is a _foreign language_!"


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## jacinta

Banzai said:
			
		

> "Gustarse" is just the verb that is used to express how we say in English "to like".  The _literal _translation, however (as mentioned by Le Pamplemousse), is "to be pleasing to".
> 
> Despite first glance, it actually does behave in the same fashion as other Spanish reflexive verbs:
> 
> Me gustas = You are pleasing to me (a.k.a. I like you).
> Le gusto = I am pleasing to him/her (a.k.a. He/She likes me).
> -versus-
> Me baño = I bathe myself
> Me siento = I seat myself
> .... etc.
> 
> ¿Me entiendes?



The verb is plain old *gustar*.  It is not a reflexive verb.  It does not act like a reflexive verb so it should not be compared to one.
It acts like the verbs:

encantar
parecer


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## Banzai

Thanks jacinta, I just plain forgot...  Of course, you would use "le"/"les" with gustar instead of "se" because it, indeed, is not a reflexive verb. I think it does kind of help to use those as a basis for comparison, however, because the train of thought is pretty foreign for a native English speaker such as myself.  Oh well, maybe this mistake will let it sink in a little deeper for next time.   Also, mhp: Good trick! I'll have to try out that method.  But for me, as far as grammar goes, it helped a lot to learn literal translations.  Whatever works


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## xelaguy

I've been curious about the forms   "le gusto" o "te gusto" - in Spanish textbooks and grammars both here and in Guatemala (where I studied Spanish)  only the 3rd person form is given - "me gusta el sombrero".  Even in  "501 Spanish Verbs", Kendris presents gustar as a defective verb, with no presente de indicativo in first person - only "gusta" and "gustan" are cited.  
¡Me gusta socorro!


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## San

jacinta said:
			
		

> The verb is plain old *gustar*.  It is not a reflexive verb.  It does not act like a reflexive verb so it should not be compared to one.
> It acts like the verbs:
> 
> encantar
> parecer


jacinta, gustar can works like a reflexive verb in some contexts, mainly journalistic slang. I'm not sure how much correct it is, but look at here:

http://www.google.es/search?hl=es&q=gust%C3%A1ndose&btnG=B%C3%BAsqueda+en+Google&meta=

http://www.google.es/search?as_q=&num=10&hl=es&btnG=B%C3%BAsqueda+en+Google&as_epq=se+gust%C3%B3&as_oq=&as_eq=&lr=&as_ft=i&as_filetype=&as_qdr=all&as_occt=any&as_dt=i&as_sitesearch=&as_rights=&safe=images


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## San

xelaguy said:
			
		

> I've been curious about the forms "le gusto" o "te gusto" - in Spanish textbooks and grammars both here and in Guatemala (where I studied Spanish) only the 3rd person form is given - "me gusta el sombrero". Even in "501 Spanish Verbs", Kendris presents gustar as a defective verb, with no presente de indicativo in first person - only "gusta" and "gustan" are cited.
> ¡Me gusta socorro!


What a funny textbook!  Then according to those guides, how are you supposed to talk to the woman you like that you like her ? I like the hat you're wearing?


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## Don Esteban

Esto, para mí, era muy dificil entender a principio. Hay otras cosas en el Español que son muy parecidas a gustar (en el sentido de que la traducción nos suena muy rara en Inglés). Por ejemplo:

Se me cayó el vaso! I didn't drop it, it fell from me.
Se me olvidó el numero. The number forgot me, I didn't forget it.

For us in English, it sounds as if everything happens to "you" when we begin to learn Spanish grammar. I always joked with my wife on this one that it was a way for her to avoid any culpability.  

Anyway, once I started to change my thinking and just accept the fact that I couldn't explain this one rationally in my own mind, I found it much easier to use and understand.

Hope this helps.


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## wiredrat

Banzai said:
			
		

> Despite first glance, it actually does behave in the same fashion as other Spanish reflexive verbs:
> 
> Me gustas = You are pleasing to me (a.k.a. I like you).
> Le gusto = I am pleasing to him/her (a.k.a. He/She likes me).
> -versus-
> Me baño = I bathe myself
> Me siento = I seat myself


Be aware of:
Me baño = I bathe myself.
Me gusto = I am pleasing to me/I like myself.
Me quiero = I love myself.

Te baño = I bathe you.
Te gusto = I am pleaseing to you/You like me.
Te quiero = I love you.

Me bañas = You bathe me.
Me gustas = You are pleasing to me/I like you.
Me quieres = You love me.

We think on "gustar" as something that someone do over someone else. So in spanish, when "Tu me gustas" you are doing something ("gustarme") on me. I am a passive individual but you are acting over me.


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## xelaguy

I guess my question has to do with high usage or low usage rather than how to conjugate gustar.  Kendris in "501 Spanish Verbs"  says gustar is "commonly used in the third person singular or plural".  I just asked a Mexican lady and she says she hears the form ued iin Mexican love songs.
Thanks.


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## nickbuddy

This thread is helpful! 
Now, I have a quick question for you.

One of my friends commented on a photo I took in Paris, and he said "Te gusto Madrid." 

I always thought it needs to be "Te gusta Madrid." 

Which one is correct? Or do the two sentences have different meanings?

Thanks,
Nick


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## SrRdRaCinG

¿Te gust*ó* Madrid?=Did you like Madrid?
¿Te gusto Madrid?= Do you like me Madrid?=WRONG


He probably said "te gustó", which makes a lot of sense.

¿Te gusta Madrid?=Do you like Madrid?


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## sra. b

Nickbuddy,

Your friend was probably speaking in the past tense:  Te gustó París.  As in, You liked Paris.

Just a thought!


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## nickbuddy

Thanks SrRdRaCinG and sra b!!

That makes more sense


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## Mariarayen

Ambas son correctas, pero en ese contexto se usa "¿Te gustó Madrid"? No sé muy bien por qué, pero supongo que es porque estuviste allí de paseo y ya no estás. Y digo de paseo porque si hubieras vivido mucho tiempo en Madrid te preguntaría "¿Te gustaba Madrid?" En cambio, si vives en Madrid en el momento de la conversación te preguntará "¿Te gusta Madrid?


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## virgilio

yashi,
 I am told by those who seem to know that even in English - in the past - the verb to "like" was used in the same way as the modern Spanish "gustar".
In those days therefore, if my informants are right, "You like me" would have meant "I like you"  and _vice versa_ - which must have made inviting a girl out for a date much simpler though I suppose it must have increased the chances of getting your face slapped along with a "get lost, creep"!
You thought you were confused before!  As Mr President once said, "You aint seen nothing yet!"

Best wishes
Virgilio


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## todoRnottodo

IMHO, Spanish is a language of redundancy. All these "gusto" "gusta" "gustas" "gustan" "gustais" drive me nuts. Not to mention "gustaria" "gustar", and "gustamos"..I think.

I understand it is called "Verb Conjugation". Why can't they just use their pronouns such as "yo" "tu" "vos" "nos" with their simple form of verbs to make it clear and simple. Just like English, for instance, "I like you" "you like me" "they like me" "we like you". Isn't it much simplified? The only verb here is "like". It helps cut down the unnecessary words(conjugated verbs), and would do us foreigners a great favor in learning their language - including the natives. There are many Spanish verbs; try multiply each by 5 to see how many more words one has to memorise in order to master this language. Why in the world did they come up with this so called verb conjugation when they can just simply use their pronouns. For instance, "I like you" = "yo gusto tu", and just use "gusto" for other pronouns as well. For infinitive verb, use "a gusto".

Were they too tired to write/speak a longer sentence so they came up with verb conjugation to make it short?

The only answer I can come up with is that their ancestors(syntacticians) had way too much of tequila while developing the grammar for this language.

The reason I have to learn this language is that because there are so many beautiful senoritas in Mexico for me to chasing after. I can never master this language because I cannot memorize all these redundant verbs...not to mention all the "tricks" a non-native must comprehend in order to speak it correctly. I could tell the natives were laughing at me when talking to them.

Just my 2-cent, folks.

Peace out


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## wiredrat

todoRnottodo said:


> IMHO, Spanish is a language of redundancy. All these "gusto" "gusta" "gustas" "gustan" "gustais" drive me nuts. Not to mention "gustaria" "gustar", and "gustamos"..I think.


I can't see the difference with English grammar. We just add the time (past, future, conditional) and the subject to the verb root, but in English you put it behind the verb.
Ok, is not that true. We have a lot of irregular verbs that do not follow the rule, but it is just practice. 



todoRnottodo said:


> I understand it is called "Verb Conjugation". Why can't they just use their pronouns such as "yo" "tu" "vos" "nos" with their simple form of verbs to make it clear and simple. Just like English, for instance, "I like you" "you like me" "they like me" "we like you". Isn't it much simplified?


That is pretty silly. Why don't just use word declination like in German? Languages is not what you like o you think is more easy. Just learn it o do not speak. 



todoRnottodo said:


> The only verb here is "like".


The verb is like, the tense is present, the subject "first person", and the action is over "you", but the verb is reflexive. So, the form is "me gustas".



todoRnottodo said:


> The only answer I can come up with is that their ancestors(syntacticians) had way too much of tequila while developing the grammar for this language.


I doubt it, but i think that my ancester knew about history much more that yours. Spanish came from Latin which was spoken by Romans. And Romans didn't know about agape to distill tequila. 
Please, learn my language and talk about it. Read my history and talk about it. I know is more difficult because we have more than 2 hundred years of history, but is far interesting...



todoRnottodo said:


> Just my 2-cent, folks.


Use it to pay a class.

Kind regards,


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## Samme8

She probably meant "te gustó Madrid" Which should mean did you like Madrid


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