Breakdown of ¿A usted le gusta el dormitorio?
el dormitorio
the bedroom
a
to
gustar
to like
le
to him / to her / to you (formal) / him (direct object, male person)
Questions & Answers about ¿A usted le gusta el dormitorio?
Why are there two words for "you" (usted and le) in this sentence?
In Spanish, verbs like gustar (to like) require an object pronoun, which is le here. Adding a usted at the beginning is technically optional but very common. It clarifies that le means the formal "you" (since le can also mean "him" or "her") and adds politeness.
Why do we use le instead of te for "you"?
This sentence uses the formal "you" (usted). Even though usted means "you", it always follows the same grammar rules as "he" and "she" (the third person). Because of this, we must use the third-person pronoun le instead of the informal te.
Why doesn't the verb gusta match usted?
In Spanish, gustar works differently than "to like" in English. It actually means something closer to "to be pleasing to". The true subject of the sentence is el dormitorio (the bedroom). The sentence literally means "Is the bedroom pleasing to you?". That is why the verb is gusta, matching the singular bedroom rather than the person.
Why is there an a at the very beginning of the sentence?
The literal translation of this sentence is "To you, is the bedroom pleasing?". The a means "to", showing who is receiving the feeling. Whenever you specifically name the person who likes something with gustar, you must put an a in front of their name or pronoun.