|
Work Unit 25: No me gustan las hamburguesas |
 |
The Verb Gustar
Since you learned how to use indirect object pronouns in the previous lesson, you can put them to work now by using a very common verb that almost always uses them. That verb is gustar, which is usually translated to mean the English verb "like."
Assignment
Complete the lesson on pages 273-82 of the textbook. Be sure also to listen to the
audio supplement, which this week provides some brief instruction on
material not covered in the textbook or in this online lesson. Because of the availability of those materials, this lesson will be shorter than most.
Be sure to complete the exercises. Although copyright rules and fairness
to other students using this book prevent me from publishing all the answers,
you can check the answer page to see an answer
to the first question in each section to help get you started. If you have
any questions, feel free to ask them on the bulletin
board.
Background
Using gustar can be a bit confusing to some beginning Spanish students. That's because sentences using gustar nearly always have the subject come after the verb with the object coming beforehand. And because almost always is used in the third person, it is sometimes known in Spanish as a verbo defectivo, or a defective verb.The important thing to keep in mind about gustar is that its most literal translation is "to be pleasing." If you keep that in mind, you will understand why it takes an indirect object pronoun, and you'll have an easier time not confusing the subject with the object.
Coming up
In the next lesson we'll start reading some material that sounds more natural, since it won't all be written in the present tense.
Next page > Sample Answers > Page 1, 2
