7.4: Verbs that require indirect object pronouns
- Page ID
- 173592
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)Verbs that Require an Indirect Object Pronoun
In Spanish, some verbs require an indirect object pronoun. This is because, in Spanish, the word that comes after the verb is the subject of the sentence. For example
Me gusta el arte. Nos gusta la música. Art is pleasing to me. Music is pleasing to us.
Te gustan los tacos. Os interesa la historia. Tacos are pleasing to you. History is interesting to you.
Le interesan las noticias. Les importan las notas. The news interests him/her/you/it. Grades are important to them/you.
Notice how the verb is conjugated in the third person singular or plural form. The word that comes after the verb determines if the verb is singular or plural since it is the subject. These verbs use the construction:
indirect object pronoun + verb + object that serves as subject
me nos 3rd person te os singular or plural le les (the verb matches in next word in number)
Me gusta el café. Nos gusta el té. Me gustan los tacos. Nos gustan los nachos.
Te interesa la clase. Os interesa el libro. Te interesan los poemas. Os interesan los dibujos.
Le encanta Duolingo. Les encanta el coche. Le encantan las ensaladas. Le encantan los idiomas.
To make these sentences negative, a NO is placed at the beginning of the sentence.
No me gusta estudiar. Studying is not pleasing to me.
No nos gustan las matemáticas. Mathematics is not pleasing to us.
Verbs that require this construction are
aburrir to bore
caer bien to like
caer mal to dislike
costar (o:ue) to cost
disgustar to dislike, to disgust
doler (o:ue) to hurt
encantar to love, to enchant
estresar to stress; to cause stress
faltar to be lacking
fascinar to fascinate
gustar to like, to be pleasing
interesar to be of interest
importar to be of importance
molestar to bother
parecer to seem
preocupar to worry
quedar to have left
With practice, using these verbs becomes natural. So, read through the list of verbs again. Then, complete the following practices.
Prácticas.
A. Translate the following sentences into Spanish.
1. Reading fascinates me.
2. I love tacos.
3. She likes Spanish. (2 ways).
4. She needs two dollars. (She is lacking two dollars).
5. Our grades are important to us.
6. They do not like horror movies.
7. Reading interests us.
8. Speaking Spanish is important to me.
9. Tests cause us stress.
10. You (formal, singular) love dogs.
11. We are lacking ten dollars.
12. Reading is not boring to us.
13. Studying is important to us.
14. I love Spanish.
15. TV bores us.
16. Music fascinates me.
17. We like learning.
18. Travel is interesting to you (fam.s).
19. Good grades are important to you (form., s.).
20. Reading is not boring to you (form, pl.).
B. Complete the following sentences.
1. Me gusta ____________________________________________________.
2. Me gustan ___________________________________________________.
3. Nos interesa _________________________________________________.
4. Nos interesan _________________________________________________.
5. A mi madre le encanta ___________________________________________.
6. A mí me encantan ______________________________________________.
7. A nuestra profesora de español le importan __________________________.
8. A nuestra profesora de español le importa ___________________________.
9. Te falta _______________________________________________________.
10. A ustedes les falta _____________________________________________.
11. A los estudiantes les molesta _____________________________________.
12. A mi madre le importan __________________________________________.
13. A mi perro/gato le encanta _______________________________________.
14. Me importan __________________________________________________.
15. A nuestra profesora de español les importa __________________________.
C. To make any of these things negative, you put a NO before the verb.
No me gustan los tacos. Tacos are not pleasing to me.
Reread your sentences above. Then, rewrite three of them in the negative form.
1.
2.
3.
D. Pick a photo on your phone or your computer. Write three sentences to describe what you like or do not like about it.
1.
2.
3.
E. Doler. In English we say that a body part hurts us. In Spanish we do the same by using an indirect object pronoun, a form of doler, and the name of the body part that hurts. Note how we use the definite article to refer to the body part. Since the body part is the subject we do not use a possessive pronoun. For example
Me duele la cabeza. My head hurts. OR My head is hurting to me.
¿Te duelen los pies? Do your feet hurt? OR Are your feet hurting to you?
No nos duelen las rodillas. Our knees do not hurt us.
Some other body parts are
el brazo arm
la cabeza head
la cadera hip
el codo elbow
el dedo finger
el dedo del pie toe
la espalda back
el estómago stomach
el hombro shoulder
la muñeca wrist
el pie foot
la pierna leg
la rodilla knee
el tobillo ankle
Now, translate the following sentences into Spanish.
1. Her ankle hurts.
2. Their feet hurt.
3. Our stomachs hurt.
4. Your (fam., s.) leg hurts.
5. Your (form., pl.) head does not hurt.
6. His wrist does not hurt.
7. My shoulders hurt.
8. Your (form., s.) toes hurt.
9. Their hip hurts.
10. My hips hurt.
F. La música. The song Me Gusta Cantar by The Natty Combo is happy song that explains why the musician enjoys singing. Listen to the song. Then, write a list of five things that you enjoy. Use the expression ME GUSTA or ME GUSTAN.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
G. How these verbs are different than regular verbs? Pick five of the verbs from the list and write five different sentences with them.