No como muchas aceitunas, pero a mi suegro le encantan.

I don’t eat many olives, but my father-in-law loves them.

Breakdown of No como muchas aceitunas, pero a mi suegro le encantan.

• yo: I
• mi: my
• comer: to eat
• a: to
• encantar: to love
• muchas: many
• le: to him
• pero: but
• no: not
• el suegro: the father-in-law
• la aceituna: the olive

Questions & Answers about No como muchas aceitunas, pero a mi suegro le encantan.

Why is there no yo in No como muchas aceitunas? Shouldn’t it be Yo no como?

In Spanish, subject pronouns (yo, tú, él, etc.) are usually dropped because the verb ending already tells you who the subject is.

• como = I eat
• comes = you eat
• come = he/she/you (formal) eat(s)

So No como muchas aceitunas already means I don’t eat many olives. Adding yo is only needed for emphasis or contrast:

• Yo no como muchas aceitunas, pero él sí.
  I don’t eat many olives, but he does.

Both Yo no como muchas aceitunas and No como muchas aceitunas are grammatically correct; the version without yo is just more typical in neutral speech.

Why does no go before como? Could you say como no muchas aceitunas?

Spanish negation puts no directly before the conjugated verb:

• No como = I don’t eat
• No quiero = I don’t want
• No entiendo = I don’t understand

So:

• No como muchas aceitunas = I don’t eat many olives.

Como no muchas aceitunas is not a normal way to say I don’t eat many olives; it sounds wrong or would be understood very differently (if at all). For simple negation, always:

no + verb

Why is it muchas aceitunas and not muchos aceitunas?

Adjectives in Spanish must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe.

• aceituna (olive) is feminine singular
• aceitunas is feminine plural

The adjective mucho changes shape:

• mucho – masculine singular
• mucha – feminine singular
• muchos – masculine plural
• muchas – feminine plural

Since aceitunas is feminine plural, you must say:

• muchas aceitunas ✅
• muchos aceitunas ❌

Why is there no article before aceitunas? Why not las aceitunas?

In Spanish, you often omit the article when you talk about:

1. An indefinite quantity with a word like muchos, muchas, pocos, varias…

   • Como muchas aceitunas. = I eat many olives.
     (Not a specific group; just quantity.)

2. Food or drink in general in the sense of I (don’t) eat/drink X (in general):

   • No como carne. = I don’t eat meat.
   • No tomo café. = I don’t drink coffee.

If you say las aceitunas, you usually mean the olives (specific ones, or olives as a general category):

• No como las aceitunas.
  Could mean “I don’t eat the olives (those olives there)” or “I don’t eat olives (as a rule).”

In this sentence, muchas aceitunas expresses an unspecified quantity, so no article is natural: No como muchas aceitunas.

What exactly does suegro mean?

suegro means father‑in‑law.

• mi suegro = my father‑in‑law
• mi suegra = my mother‑in‑law
• mis suegros = my in‑laws (both of them as a couple, or in-laws in general)

So the second part means: …but my father‑in‑law loves them.

Why is it a mi suegro and not just mi suegro?

In the structure with encantar (and also gustar, interesar, doler, etc.), the person who experiences the feeling is an indirect object, introduced by a:

• A mi suegro le encantan… = To my father‑in‑law, they are delightful / my father‑in‑law loves them.

The a + person phrase:

1. Marks the person who likes/loves something:
   • A María le gustan los gatos.
2. Often adds emphasis or clarification (who exactly is being talked about).

You can drop a mi suegro if it’s clear from context whom le refers to, but then le must still be there:

• Le encantan. = He/She loves them.
• A mi suegro le encantan. = My father‑in‑law loves them. (clearer and more explicit)

Why do we need le in a mi suegro le encantan? Isn’t a mi suegro enough?

With verbs like encantar, gustar, interesar, doler, Spanish almost always uses an indirect object pronoun (me, te, le, nos, les) even if the person is already mentioned with a + person.

So the normal pattern is:

• A mi suegro le encantan…
• A María le gustan…
• A mí me duele la cabeza.

Using only the a + person phrase and omitting the pronoun is ungrammatical in standard Spanish:

• A mi suegro encantan ❌ (wrong)
• A mi suegro le encantan ✅ (correct)

This is called “redundant” indirect object clitic in grammar terms, but in Spanish it’s not optional in this structure; it’s just how the language works.

Why is it encantan (plural) and not encanta?

With encantar, the thing that is liked/loved is the grammatical subject, and the verb agrees with that thing.

Compare:

• A mi suegro le encanta la aceituna.
  My father‑in‑law loves the olive. (singular)

• A mi suegro le encantan las aceitunas.
  My father‑in‑law loves olives / the olives. (plural)

Here, the implied subject is las aceitunas (olives), which is plural, so the verb must be encantan (third person plural).

In your sentence, aceitunas is understood from context, so:

• …pero a mi suegro le encantan (las aceitunas).

Can I say mi suegro las encanta to mean “my father‑in‑law loves them”?

No. mi suegro las encanta is incorrect.

Reason: with encantar, the person is not the subject of the verb; the thing that is loved is the subject.

Correct patterns:

• A mi suegro le encantan las aceitunas.
  = Olives delight my father‑in‑law.
• A mi suegro le encantan.
  = He loves them. (context tells us them = olives)

Incorrect:

• Mi suegro las encanta. ❌

If you want the person to be the grammatical subject, use a different verb, such as amar or adorar:

• Mi suegro ama las aceitunas.
• Mi suegro adora las aceitunas.

Why is it a mi suegro and not para mi suegro?

a and para have different roles:

• a marks an indirect object (to/for someone) and is used with gustar‑type verbs:

  • A mi suegro le encantan las aceitunas.
    = My father‑in‑law loves olives.

• para usually means for (the purpose/benefit of):

  • Este regalo es para mi suegro.
    This gift is for my father‑in‑law.

With encantar / gustar / interesar / doler, you virtually always use a, not para:

• A mi suegro le encantan las aceitunas. ✅
• Para mi suegro le encantan las aceitunas. ❌ (wrong)

Can I say Le encantan a mi suegro instead of A mi suegro le encantan?

Yes. Both word orders are possible:

• A mi suegro le encantan.
• Le encantan a mi suegro.

They mean the same thing. The difference is just emphasis and rhythm:

• Starting with A mi suegro… slightly highlights “my father‑in‑law”.
• Starting with Le encantan… slightly highlights “He really loves them”.

In everyday speech, A mi suegro le encantan is very natural, especially after your first clause:

• No como muchas aceitunas, pero a mi suegro le encantan.

Could the second part also be …pero a mi suegro le encantan las aceitunas?

Yes, that is perfectly correct:

• No como muchas aceitunas, pero a mi suegro le encantan las aceitunas.

In normal conversation, Spanish usually omits the repeated noun when it’s obvious from context:

• No como muchas aceitunas, pero a mi suegro le encantan.
  (Everyone knows them = olives.)

Repeating las aceitunas is grammatically fine, but feels a bit more formal or a bit redundant in a casual sentence like this.

Can I say No como muchas aceitunas, pero mi suegro sí?

Yes, that’s a very natural alternative:

• No como muchas aceitunas, pero mi suegro sí.

Here:

• no (como) is understood with yo
• sí (come) is understood with mi suegro

So it means:

• I don’t eat many olives, but my father‑in‑law does.

Both versions are correct:

• …pero a mi suegro le encantan.
  Focus on how much he likes them.
• …pero mi suegro sí.
  Focus on the contrast in eating them (I don’t, he does).

What’s the difference between encantar and gustar in this context?

Both are “gustar‑type” verbs (same structure: A X le…), but encantar is stronger than gustar:

• A mi suegro le gustan las aceitunas.
  My father‑in‑law likes olives.

• A mi suegro le encantan las aceitunas.
  My father‑in‑law loves olives / really likes olives a lot.

So using encantar gives the idea of loving or really enjoying something, not just mildly liking it.