Breakdown of A mi padre le gusta el ajo, pero no quiere demasiada pimienta.
Questions & Answers about A mi padre le gusta el ajo, pero no quiere demasiada pimienta.
Yes, they both point to the same person, but this is normal in Spanish.
This is called indirect object doubling:
- a mi padre names the person clearly
- le repeats that person with an indirect object pronoun
So:
- A mi padre le gusta el ajo = literally something like Garlic is pleasing to my father
In Spanish, with gustar, using le is standard, even when you also say a mi padre.
Without a mi padre, Le gusta el ajo is still correct, but it just means He/She likes garlic and depends on context.
Because the verb agrees with el ajo, which is singular.
With gustar, the thing being liked is the grammatical subject:
- el ajo = singular, so gusta
- las manzanas = plural, so gustan
Compare:
- A mi padre le gusta el ajo = My father likes garlic
- A mi padre le gustan los ajos = My father likes garlic cloves / kinds of garlic
So the verb does not agree with mi padre. It agrees with what causes the pleasure.