me, te, le, nos, os, les with gustar and dar
To whom? Le doy el libro, nos gusta el cine
Part of the free A1 Spanish course. Press the speaker next to an example to hear it.
Who receives something
In I give my mother a present, the present is the thing given, and my mother is the person who receives it: the indirect object (in English often “to” or “for” someone). Spanish has a set of short pronouns for it:
| Person | pronoun | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| yo | me | (to) me |
| tú | te | (to) you |
| él, ella, usted | le | (to) him, her, you (formal) |
| nosotros, nosotras | nos | (to) us |
| vosotros, vosotras | os | (to) you all |
| ellos, ellas, ustedes | les | (to) them, you all (formal) |
Like lo and la (lo, la, los, las: the first object pronouns), they go before the conjugated verb, or attached to an infinitive: Te quiero dar un regalo or Quiero darte un regalo.
With gustar
You met me gusta in Gustar: me gusta / me gustan: literally “it pleases me”. Here is the full set:
- Nos gusta mucho el cine.We really like the cinema.
- ¿Os gustan las películas de miedo?Do you like horror films?
- A mi padre le gusta el fútbol.My father likes football.
- A mis abuelos les gusta pasear.My grandparents like going for walks.
The pronoun is compulsory. The phrase a + person (a mi padre, a ella, a mí) is extra: it makes clear who le or les is, or adds emphasis. A mí me gusta is fine; A mí gusta is not.
Dar: to give
| Person | dar |
|---|---|
| yo | doy |
| tú | das |
| él, ella, usted | da |
| nosotros, nosotras | damos |
| vosotros, vosotras | dais |
| ellos, ellas, ustedes | dan |
Doy is irregular, and dais has no accent (it's one syllable).
- Te doy mi número.I'll give you my number.
- Mi abuela nos da dinero en Navidad.My grandmother gives us money at Christmas.
- ¿Me das un vaso de agua?Can you give me a glass of water?
- Le doy el libro a Carmen.I give the book to Carmen.
In the last example Spanish says both le and a Carmen. Keeping le even when the person is named is normal Spanish; the details are in Indirect object pronouns and redundant le.
Other verbs of giving and telling
The same pronouns go with decir (to say, tell), escribir (to write), enviar (to send), explicar (to explain), comprar (to buy for someone):
- Les escribo un mensaje a mis amigos.I write my friends a message.
Le or les
Use le for one person and les for more than one. In everyday speech you will hear le with a plural (le doy un regalo a mis hijos), but les is the standard form.
Spain and Latin America
Os is used only in Spain. Latin America uses les for every plural “you”: ¿Les gusta? where Spain says ¿Os gusta?
Common mistakes
Yo gusto el chocolate→ Me gusta el chocolate.A Juan gusta→ A Juan le gusta. The pronoun can't be dropped.Doy le el libro→ Le doy el libro. The pronoun goes before the verb.A ellos le gusta→ A ellos les gusta.Me gusta los gatos→ Me gustan los gatos. Gustar agrees with the thing liked.
Practice
- A mi hermana _____ gusta bailar.Options: le · la · les
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le — Gustar takes the indirect pronoun: le for one person.
- A mis padres _____ gusta viajar.Options: les · le · los
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les — Mis padres is plural: les.
- ¿A vosotros _____ gusta la pizza?
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os — Vosotros → os. In Latin America you'd hear ¿A ustedes les gusta?
- Mi tío siempre _____ da caramelos.
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nos