THE INDIRECT OBJECT

Gustar and the Indirect Object

Gustar means to be pleasing to and is used to express the idea of liking in Spanish.

Me gusta and me gustan

Me is the indirect object pronoun that means to me. In Spanish, there is no exact
translation of I like. Compare the English construction with the Spanish construction.
Singular Noun as the Subject

Esta clase is a singular noun—the subject Gusta is the verb and agrees with the singular
subject. Me is the indirect object pronoun—the person to whom the action is occurring.

NOTE: In the Spanish construction, subjects retain their articles (el, la, los, las) even when
the English translation doesn’t include them (for example, el chocolate, English Chocolate
—not The chocolate—in the example above).
A Word About Practicing Orally It is essential to practice orally me gusta and all the forms
to follow. The more you practice, the more natural it becomes.

Plural Noun as the Subject

If the subject of the sentence is a plural noun, gusta becomes gustan to agree with the
plural subject.
Los libros is the plural noun—the subject. Gustan is the verb and agrees with the plural
subject. Me is the indirect object pronoun—the person to whom the action is occurring.

Verb as the Subject

Me gusta is also used when the subject is a verb. The verb form is the infinitive, no matter
what the English translation is. When an infinitive is the subject, the singular gusta is used.

NOTE: Gusta remains singular even if it is followed by a series of verbs. The only forms of
gustar that you will need are the third-person singular, gusta, and the third-person plural,
gustan. To make a sentence negative, simply place no before the indirect object.

If the subject of the sentence is a singular noun or a verb, use gusta.

Me gusta el hotel.
Me gusta viajar.
• If the subject is a plural noun, use gustan.
Me gustan las vacaciones.
• If the sentence is negative, place no before the indirect object.
No me gustan los ratones.
Te gusta and te gustan
Te is the indirect object pronoun that means to you. When you use te, you are, speaking in
the familiar tú form.

Singular Noun as the Subject

Plural Noun as the Subject

Verb as the Subject

Le gusta and le gustan

Le is the indirect object pronoun that means to him (a él), to her (a ella), or to you (a Ud.).

Because le means to him, to her, and to you, it can have any of the following meanings.
The wine is pleasing to him.
The wine is pleasing to her.
The wine is pleasing to you.

To clarify this ambiguity, the sentence must begin with a prepositional phrase that clarifies
the meaning of the indirect object pronoun le. Because le means to him, to her, and to
you, it can have any of the following meanings.
The wine is pleasing to him.
The wine is pleasing to her.

You can also insert proper names and nouns in the prepositional phrase.

Singular nouns can be inserted in the prepositional phrases.

Nos gusta and nos gustan

Nos is the indirect object pronoun that means to us.

Les gusta and les gustan

Les is the indirect object pronoun that means to them (a ellos, a ellas) and to you (a Uds.).

Because les means both to them and to you, the meaning of this sentence can be either of
the following. The film is pleasing to them. The film is pleasing to you (pl.). To clarify this
ambiguity, the sentence must begin with a prepositional phrase that clarifies the meaning
of les.

Nouns and proper names can be inserted in the prepositional phrases.

If you want to add emphasis to the constructions of me gusta and te gusta, add a mí,
which emphasizes me, and a ti, which emphasizes te.

There is no ambiguity in these examples. A mí and a ti give the feeling of the emphasized
pronoun in English: I like coffee. You like wine.

Pronounce the examples aloud so you can become familiar with the sound.
Complete the following sentences. Choose the correct indirect object pronoun, as indicated
by the prepositional phrase in parentheses, then choose either gusta or gustan, depending
on whether the subject is singular or plural.

1. (A mí) _____________________ el café con azúcar.

2. (A ella) _____________________ el café negro.
3. (A María) _____________________ el té.
4. (A mí) _____________________ escribir libros.
5. (A mis amigos) _____________________ cocinar.
6. (A Susana y a Miguel) _____________________ viajar.
7. (A ellos) _____________________ comer en buenos restaurantes.
8. (A mí) _____________________ ir al teatro.
9. (A ti) _____________________ ir al cine.
10. (A nosotros) _____________________ salir los sábados.
11. (A Guillermo) _____________________ los restaurantes japoneses.
12. (A su amiga) _____________________ los restaurantes hindúes.
13. (A Uds.) _____________________ los restaurantes franceses.
14. (A mí) _____________________ las playas del Caribe.
15. (A ti) _____________________ las piscinas grandes.
16. (A tu hermana) _____________________ la ciudad.
17. (Al hermano de José) _____________________ el campo.
18. (A nosotros) _____________________ viajar.
19. (A Cecilia y a su familia) _____________________ conversar.
20. (A los niños) _____________________ aprender todo.
21. (A los adolescentes) _____________________ jugar deportes.
22. ¿(A Uds.) _____________________ el alcalde de su ciudad?

Verbs like gustar

You have just learned a very important form, not only to express the idea of I like, but for
other verbs as well. The following verbs are used with an indirect object.

agradar to be pleasing to (very close in meaning to gustar)

convenir to suit someone, to be convenient (for)

doler to be painful, to hurt

NOTE: In Spanish, the possessive adjective is not used with parts of the body and the
indirect object pronoun.

encantar to be enchanting to, to like very much

NOTE: Encantar is much stronger than gustar. Encantar can not be used in the negative.
faltar to be lacking (something), to be missing (something)

NOTE: Faltar can be used without the indirect object pronoun. fascinar to fascinate, to be
fascinating (to)

hacer falta to need (something)

importar to be important to, to matter

NOTE: Importar can be used without the indirect object pronoun. interesar to be
interesting (to)

molestar to bother, to annoy

parecer to seem, to appear to be

NOTE: Parecer can be used without the indirect object pronoun. quedar to be left over, to
remain

tocarle a alguien to be someone’s turn

Complete the following sentences with the correct prepositional phrase, according to the
words in parentheses.
 1. _____________ le gusta el tenis. (to her)
2. ¿ _____________ le gustan todos los deportes? (to you)
3. _____________ me gusta leer, pero me encanta escribir. (to me)
4. Yo sé que _____________ te gusta estudiar, pero _____________ les,gusta ir a
fiestas. (to you/to them)
5. Parece que _____________ le gusta cocinar. (to no one)
6. ¿ _____________ le gusta limpiar su apartamento? (to whom)

Change the following singular sentences to plural. Make sure both the subject and the
verb are plural. The indirect object pronoun will remain the same.

1. Les encanta ese carro rojo. __________________________

2. Te agrada el programa. __________________________
3. Me gusta la silla. __________________________
4. Nos importa nuestro amigo. __________________________
5. Le fascina esa computadora. __________________________

Translate the following sentences into English.

1. A Susana le duele la cabeza. __________________________

2. Me falta un lápiz con que escribir. __________________________
3. ¿Por qué no te gusta bailar? __________________________
4. Nos fascinan los viajes exóticos. __________________________
5. A ella le interesan las noticias del día. __________________________
6. ¿A Ud. le molesta su perfume? __________________________
7. ¿A Uds. les importan las lecciones? __________________________
8. ¿Te conviene seguir tus estudios este año? __________________________
9. A él no le gusta manejar en la lluvia. __________________________
10. A ella no le gusta el clima caliente. __________________________

Answer the following questions aloud in Spanish.

1. ¿A Ud. le duele la cabeza después de trabajar todo el día?

2. ¿Qué les conviene estudiar ahora?
3. ¿Cuántos libros nos quedan por leer?
4. ¿Por qué a Uds. les fascina hablar español?
5. ¿Les gustan los carros grandes que usan mucha gasolina?
6. ¿Te interesa la tecnología?
7. ¿Qué le encanta hacer?
8. En su familia, ¿a quién le gusta jugar al baloncesto? ¿A quién le gusta bailar?
9. ¿Te importa saber de la política?
10. ¿A Uds. les fascina viajar?
 THE INDIRECT OBJECT PRONOUN

Review the indirect object pronouns.

Be sure to practice the indirect object orally as much as you can. The structure of Spanish
and English is quite different here, so take your time and practice.

Verbs that commonly take indirect objects follow.

contar to relate, to tell a story, to count; contar con to count on,

Position of the Indirect Object Pronoun

The indirect object pronoun can be placed in either of two positions in a sentence or
phrase.

Indirect Object Pronoun Placed Directly Before the First Verb In the first position, the
indirect object pronoun is placed directly before the first verb in a sentence or question.
Remember that the indirect object pronoun le is ambiguous. It means to him, to her, to
you. Out of context, there is no way to know what the meaning is. So a prepositional
phrase is added to clarify the meaning.

Remember also that a proper noun can be inserted in the clarifying prepositional phrase.

A noun can also be inserted in the prepositional phrase.

Like le, les is ambiguous. It means to you (a Uds.) and to them (a ellos, a ellas). A
prepositional phrase is added to clarify the meaning. A proper noun or a noun can also be
used as a clarifier.
With the verbs comprar and hacer, the translation of the indirect object pronoun is for
me, for you, for him, for her, for us, for them.

Using the new verbs, complete the following sentences with the correct
verb and indirect object pronoun. Add clarifiers when necessary.

1. Julia ___________________ dos tarjetas cada semana. (to write/to me)

2. José y Maria ___________________ tarjetas desde Barcelona. (to write/to us)
3. Carlos ___________________ la lección de hoy. (to give/to me)
4. Yo ___________________ si mi tarea está en tu casa. (to ask/you)
5. Él ___________________ que su hermana vive en Nueva York. (to say/to me)
6. Ella ___________________ su bolígrafo. (to lend/to him)
7. Nosotros ___________________ a hablar español. (to teach/to Ana y José)
8. Ellos ___________________ café con leche a mi oficina. (to bring/to us)
9. Yo ___________________ los resultados de la elección. (to tell/to him)
10. Yo ___________________ , “¿Cuánto ___________________ Ud.?” (to ask/the
cab driver, to charge/me)

Complete the following sentences with the correct verb and indirect object pronoun.
Notice that these sentences include two verbs. Practice placing the indirect object pronoun
directly before the first verb.

1. Alicia ___________________ una alfombra. (to want to give/to me)

2. El maestro ___________________ el francés. (to want to teach/to his students)
3. Mis primos ___________________ un carro para mi cumpleaños. (to be going to
buy/for me)
4. Yo ___________________ mi computadora vieja. (to want to sell/to you)
5. ¿Tienes frío? Yo ___________________ una chaqueta. (to be able to bring/to you)
6. Ud. ___________________ la verdad. (ought to tell/him)
7. ¿Quién ___________________ las lecciones de hoy? (to be able to teach/us)
8. ¿ ___________________ Ud. el favor de limpiar mi casa? (to be able to do/for me)
9. Yo ___________________ buenas direcciones, pero no sé donde estoy. (to want
to give/to you)
10. Ellos siempre ___________________ cómo estoy. (to ask/me)