184. Gustar. The verb gustar,
' to please,' is almost exclusively used in Spanish with
the meaning of the English ' to like,' and it is used with an indirect
object, the subject and object being the reverse of the English
construction.
| Me gusta la comida. |
I like the dinner. |
| Me gustaba viajar. |
I liked to travel. |
| Nos gusta la mesa. |
We like the table. |
| Le gustan las manzanas. |
He likes apples. |
| ¿Les gustan a ustedes las
plumas? |
Do you like the pens? |
| ¿Te gustó la comedia? |
Did you like the play? |
185. Sí and no with
Ellipsis of the Verb Form. Sí and no
may be used in Spanish with a pronoun to avoid the repetition
of the verb in the second part of a comparison or contrast, when
in English the auxiliary verb is often repeated.
| Éí estudia
mucho, pero yo no. |
He studies much, but I do not. |
| Yo no voy a comer, pero él
sí. |
I am not going to eat,
but he is. |
| Ella fué, pero él no. |
She went, but he didn't. |
A mí me gustan las naranjas,
pero a él no. |
I like oranges, but he
does not. |
A usted no le gusta fumar,
pero a mí sí. |
You do not like to smoke,
but I do. |
| A ella le habló, pero a mí
no. |
He spoke to her, but not
to me. |
a. After verbs of ' saying, thinking,' and the like,
que is introduced before no or
sí, as if the verb were not omitted.
| Le pregunté si
iría y dijo que sí. |
I asked him if he would go and
he said he would. |
| Dicen que no. |
They say no (they will not). |
| Creo que sí. |
I think so. |
| Pienso que no. |
I think not. |
186. Mismo. The intensive mismo, '
self,' which is used with the prepositional reflexive pronouns (165),
is also used to intensify any subject pronoun, prepositional personal
pronoun, or noun.
| Yo mismo fuí. |
I myself (or even I)
went. |
| Usted mismo debe ir. |
You must go yourself. |
| Ella misma me lo dijo. |
She told it to me herself. |
| Me lo dió a mí mismo. |
He gave it to me (myself). |
| Nos la dió a nosotras mismas. |
He gave it to us (personally). |
| El padre mismo trabaja. |
The father himself works. |
| Los muchachos mismos me llamaron. |
The boys themselves called me. |
a. When mismo precedes the noun, it
may mean ' same,' ' very.'
| el mismo libro, |
the same book. |
| la misma casa, |
the same house. |
187. For emphasis, a question is frequently introduced
by que:
| ¿Que ya no vas
a la escuela? |
Are you not going to school any
more? |
| ¿Que no lo viste ayer? |
Didn't you see him yesterday? |
¿Que a su amigo no le gustan
las uvas? |
Doesn't your friend like grapes? |
188. Learn the indicative tenses of the irregular
verb traer, ' to bring,' 490.
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