Adding a mí, a ti… for emphasis
With gustar, encantar and interesar, the person is shown by the pronoun me, te, le, nos, os, les. To stress who, or to contrast two people, Spanish adds a + a pronoun in front of it: a mí me, a ti te…
| I like football. And you? | A mí me gusta el fútbol. ¿Y a ti? |
| You like cats, but I like dogs. | A ti te gustan los gatos, pero a mí me gustan los perros. |
| emphasis | pronoun | example |
|---|---|---|
| a mí | me | A mí me gusta. |
| a ti | te | A ti te gusta. |
| a él / a ella / a usted | le | A ella le gusta. |
| a nosotros / a nosotras | nos | A nosotros nos gusta. |
| a vosotros / a vosotras | os | A vosotros os gusta. |
| a ellos / a ellas / a ustedes | les | A ellos les gusta. |
The pronoun always stays
The a mí part is optional; the me is not. A mí gusta is always wrong — say A mí me gusta. No goes between the two parts.
| I do not like noise. And you? | A mí no me gusta el ruido. ¿Y a ti? |
| I love poetry, but he does not. | A mí me encanta la poesía, pero a él no. |
| We love dancing. | A nosotros nos encanta bailar. |
Who is le?
Le can mean him, her or you (usted). Adding a él, a ella or a usted makes it clear.
| She likes tea and he likes coffee. | A ella le gusta el té y a él le gusta el café. |
| Are you interested in history? | ¿A usted le interesa la historia? |
Doubling a noun: le … a Luis
When the person who receives something is a noun or a name, Spanish normally puts le or les in the sentence as well. To an English speaker it looks doubled, but it is the natural way to say it.
| I give the book to Luis. | Le doy el libro a Luis. |
| I explain the lesson to the students. | Les explico la lección a los estudiantes. |
| My father loves wine. | A mi padre le encanta el vino. |
With a direct object pronoun, le becomes se — and the noun can still follow:
| The book? I give it to Luis. | ¿El libro? Se lo doy a Luis. |
Common mistakes
- A mí gusta → A mí me gusta.
- Yo me gusta → A mí me gusta: the thing you like is the subject, not yo.
- Doy el libro a Luis is understood, but Le doy el libro a Luis is what people say.
Your questions are stored by us to improve Elon.io
