Help with "would you like"?
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Wardie1993
September 23, 2015, 01:20 PM
Tu becomes "Te gustaría", as in "Would you like a drink?" is "¿Te gustaría una bebida?", what I'm wondering is if Usted changes form much like tu does, or is it simply "¿Usted gustaría una bebida?"?
poli
September 23, 2015, 01:34 PM
A more formal way of saying this is:¿ Le gustaría una bebida?
Wardie1993
September 23, 2015, 01:35 PM
Hmmm, interesting, I've never heard of "le" before, where exactly does "le" come from?
AngelicaDeAlquezar
September 23, 2015, 02:53 PM
"Le" is an indirect object pronoun, and it's the exact equivalent of "te" for the usage with the verb "gustar".
The verb "gustar" is special, because the person is not the subject of the verb, but the indirect object:
- (A mí) Me gusta la música. -> "Yo" is the IO (that is why it becomes "mí") and the music is the subject.
I like music.
- ¿(A ti) te gusta el café? -> "Tú" is the IO and coffee is the subject.
Do you like coffee?
- A mi hermano le gustan los perros. -> "Él" (my brother) is the IO and the subject of the verb are the dogs; that is why it's "gustan" and not "gusta".
My brother likes dogs.
- ¿(A usted) le gustan los perros? -> "Usted" is the IO and the subject are dogs.
Do you (formal) like dogs?
- (A nosotros) Nos gusta viajar. -> "Nosotros" is the IO and travelling is the subject.
We like travelling.
- ¿(A ustedes) les gustan los animales? -> "Ustedes" is the IO and the animals are the subject.
Do you (plural) like animals?
- A los niños les gustan los helados. -> "Ellos" is the IO and the many varieties of icecream are the subject.
Children like icecream.
Wardie1993
September 23, 2015, 04:18 PM
Thanks for the detailed reply! :)
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