12

Gustar, Hacer, Tener and Dar

VERBS LIKE GUSTAR

12.1

Spanish syntax as concerns the usage of certain verbs, among which are gustar and
faltar, is very difficult for the English speaker since it is so different from the English ways
of expressing the same concepts.

Me gustas (tú).

I like you.

Me faltan cinco dólares.

I need five dollars.

Other Spanish verbs resembling gustar and faltar and used in the same structures are
doler, encantar, fascinar, importar, interesar, quedar, hacerle falta a uno, etc. For the
English speaker to best perceive the syntax required for these Spanish verbs, it is helpful
to think of them as corresponding to English to be + LV -ing in the third person, singular or
plural. A few Spanish verbs allow English translations using a syntax more similar to the
Spanish construction, i.e., That smell bothers me = Ese olor me molesta. Here the English
direct object me appears as an indirect object in Spanish.

disgustar = to be disgusting, to disgust

doler = to be hurting, to hurt

encantar = to be enchanting

faltar = to be lacking, to be missing

fascinar = to be fascinating

gustar = to be pleasing
 hacerle falta a uno = to be lacking, to be needing/in need of

importar = to be important

interesar = to be interesting

molestar = to bother

quedar = to be remaining, to be left over

repugnar = to be disgusting/to disgust

The following diagram shows the syntax required with these Spanish verbs. We also
provide literal English paraphrases using to be + LV-ing. These paraphrases are by no
means grammatical; any native English speaker would find them meaningful, but they are
not normal English.

12.2
 Acceptable English renditions of the paraphrases above follow; they deviate
considerably from the Spanish syntactical specifications.

12.3

A comparison of these English and Spanish constructions reveals that the English subject
appears as the Spanish indirect object: I like the house = Me gusta la casa. Regarding the
noun phrase (the house/la casa), it functions in English as a direct object whereas in
Spanish, it is the subject: I like the house = Me gusta la casa. Note that the Spanish verbs
involved in these constructions tend to be defective, that is they occur only in certain of
their possible forms. In the examples given, they appear in the third persons singular and
plural, depending upon the subject, which is stated last: Me gusta la casa/Me gustan las
casas.
 If the Spanish indirect object appears as a noun, a reduplicating/redundant disjunctive
prepositional object construction also occurs, as in, A mis padres les gusta bailar (See
11.13-14). Indirect object pronouns follow the same pattern: A ellos les gusta bailar y a
ellas, cantar; A ellos les gusta bailar, pero a ellas no. Reduplication is used to emphasize,
to contrast or to disambiguate (as in the case of third person objects):

A mí me gusta la carne asada, no los mariscos. (emphasis)

A mí me gusta la carne asada y a ti, los mariscos. (contrast)

A Reinaldo le duele la garganta, no a Pedro. (disambiguation).

A mis padres les encanta la música clásica, no a mis tíos.

Al gobierno le faltan los fondos económicos para hacerlo.

A ti y a Delia os fascinan las flores azules, no las rojas.

A mí me gusta la clase de castellano y a ti, la de matemáticas.

¿Te hace falta dinero a ti, no a tu hermano?

A Ud. le importan los problemas del mundo pero a él, no.

A nosotros nos interesan tus planes para el futuro, pero a ti no te preocupan.

Nos molesta el humo a nosotros.

A ellos/ellas/Uds. les queda una hora para terminarlo.

Exercise 1

Translate the following sentences. Show first the “deformed” English which exemplifies
the normal Spanish pattern. (He cares about money > *To him is important the money > A
él le importa el dinero)

We don’t like cats and dogs.

Do they need (lack) paper?

I don’t care what you think about me.

 They have sore feet.

I have twenty dollars left.

Do you like my car?

Isn’t money important to your uncle?

What do we need (lack) now?

My friend has only one cigarette left.

My sister has a pain in her chest.

My brother doesn’t like Hawaii.

The students don’t matter to the teacher.

My elbow hurts.

We still have several questions (remaining) to be answered.

I’m not interested in your problems.

He’s fascinated by the physical sciences.

Mexican movies captivate me.

Contemporary world problems interest them.

EXPRESSIONS USING TENER AND DAR

12.6

The Spanish verb tener combines with many nouns to form common expressions in the
language. Many of these seem purely idiomatic, but since English uses the verb to be to
express identical ideas, the inter-lingual structures differ sufficiently to warrant attention
here. As was the case with hacer vs. it + be in weather expressions, any quantifiers are
adjectives in Spanish, but adverbs in English, since in the former nouns occur while in the
latter, adjectives.
12.7

Like tener, dar appears with many nouns to form expressions of common usage. Spanish
often combines this verb with the indirect object pronoun plus a noun to express English,
to make one feel a certain way: Eso me da calor = That makes me feel warm. Again,
quantifiers in Spanish must be adjectives, since they modify nouns (Me da muchos celos),
while in English, they are adverbs modifying adjectives (It makes me very jealous).