Verbs like gustar: encantar, interesar, doler, molestar, parecer
Me encanta, te interesa, le duele, nos molesta, ¿qué os parece?
Part of the free A2 Spanish course. Press the speaker next to an example to hear it.
With gustar (Gustar: me gusta / me gustan) the thing you like is the subject (the "doer" of the verb), and the person is an indirect object pronoun: me, te, le, nos, os, les (me, te, le, nos, os, les with gustar and dar). Literally, me gusta el café is "coffee pleases me". Many other useful verbs work the same way.
The pattern
- The verb is singular with one thing or with an infinitive: me encanta bailar.
- The verb is plural with plural things: me encantan los perros.
- Add a mí, a ti, a él, a Juan… for emphasis or to make le/les clear. With a name, you still need the pronoun: A Juan le gusta.
The verbs
| Verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| encantar | to love (a thing, an activity) | Me encanta el mar. |
| interesar | to interest, be interested in | Nos interesa el arte. |
| doler (ue) | to hurt | Me duelen los pies. |
| molestar | to bother, annoy | Les molesta el ruido. |
| parecer | to seem, to think of | ¿Qué te parece? |
| importar | to matter, to mind | No me importa. |
- Me encanta el chocolate negro.I love dark chocolate.
- A mi hermana le encantan los perros.My sister loves dogs.
- ¿Te interesa la historia?Are you interested in history?
- Nos interesan mucho los idiomas.We are very interested in languages.
- Me molesta el ruido de la calle.The noise from the street bothers me.
- No me importa esperar.I don't mind waiting.
Doler: pain
Doler is a stem-changer (o → ue): duele, duelen. Use the article, not "my": me duele la cabeza, because me already says whose head it is.
- Me duele la espalda.My back hurts.
- A Javier le duelen los pies después de correr.Javier's feet hurt after running.
Parecer: opinions
¿Qué te parece…? = What do you think of…? The answer agrees with the thing judged:
- ¿Qué te parece mi idea?What do you think of my idea?
- Estos zapatos me parecen muy caros.These shoes seem very expensive to me.
In the past
The same pattern works in every tense: me gustó la película (preterite), me encantaron los conciertos, de niño me dolían los oídos (imperfect).
- ¿Os gustó la película?Did you (all) like the film?
Encantar already means "to like a lot", so me encanta mucho is often considered redundant (though you will hear it). Me encanta is enough.
Latin America
Les replaces os for "you all": ¿Les gustó la película? (a ustedes). Everything else is the same.
Common mistakes
Yo encanto el chocolate→ Me encanta el chocolate. The person is me, not yo.Me encanta los libros→ Me encantan los libros. The verb agrees with the thing.Me duele mi cabeza→ Me duele la cabeza.A Juan gusta el fútbol→ A Juan le gusta el fútbol. Keep the pronoun.Me interesa en la música→ Me interesa la música. No preposition after interesar.
Practice
- A mis padres les _____ viajar en tren.Options: encanta · encantan · encantamos
Show the answer
encanta — With an infinitive (viajar), the verb is singular.
- A mí me _____ (doler) las rodillas cuando subo escaleras.
Show the answer
duelen — Las rodillas is plural, and doler changes o → ue.
- ¿Te _____ (interesar) el arte moderno?
Show the answer
interesa
- Which is correct?Options: Me duele la cabeza. · Me duele mi cabeza. · Yo duelo la cabeza.
Show the answer
Me duele la cabeza. — Me already shows whose head it is, so use the article la.