Learn Spanish (Latin America): Ellas estudian porque les gusta el arte.

Ellas estudian porque les gusta el arte.

They study because they like art.

Breakdown of Ellas estudian porque les gusta el arte.

Questions & Answers about Ellas estudian porque les gusta el arte.

Why is it gusta instead of gustan when the sentence is about multiple people (ellas)?

With the verb gustar, the verb matches the thing being liked, not the person who likes it. It's helpful to think of it as "art is pleasing to them." Because the thing they like is el arte (singular), you use the singular verb gusta.

What does les mean here?

les is an indirect object pronoun that means "to them." Since gustar works by saying something is pleasing to someone, you must use les to show who is experiencing the feeling. Here, it refers back to Ellas (they).

Why do we say el arte instead of just arte?

In English, we just say "art" when talking about it in general. But in Spanish, when you talk about a concept or a thing in a general sense, you have to include the definite article (el, la, los, or las).

What is the difference between porque and por qué?

porque (written as one word without an accent mark) means "because," which connects the two parts of this sentence. por qué (two words with an accent mark on the é) is used for asking "why?" in a question.