Level 3 — Intermediate (CEFR: B1)
Unit 9 — Expanding the Present
Lesson 3 — Gustar and Reverse-Subject Verbs
Lesson Overview
Level: 3 — Intermediate Unit: 9 — Expanding the Present Lesson: 3 of 5 Estimated Time: 75 minutes
What this lesson covers:
- The reverse-subject structure of gustar and related verbs
- Why these verbs trip up interpreters: the grammatical reversal
- Core ministry reverse-subject verbs: gustar, encantar, importar, molestar, parecer, faltar, interesar, doler
- The curriculum key sentences and their interpretation challenges
- Indirect object pronouns: me, te, le, nos, les
- How to render these verbs naturally in English without translating literally
- Ministry sentences for each verb
The Reverse-Subject Structure
Gustar and related verbs work backwards from English. In English: “I like worship.” In Spanish: “Worship pleases me.”
The structure:
Indirect object pronoun + verb (agrees with Spanish subject) + Spanish subject
Me gusta la adoración. — I like worship. (lit. Worship is pleasing to me.) Me gustan las canciones. — I like the songs. (lit. The songs are pleasing to me.)
The verb gusta or gustan agrees with the Spanish subject (what is liked), not with the person who likes. When what is liked is singular or an infinitive: gusta. When it is plural: gustan.
This means: When you hear me gusta, the interpreter must flip the sentence — the grammatical object in Spanish becomes the English subject.
Indirect Object Pronouns
| Person | Pronoun | Example |
|---|---|---|
| To me | me | Me importa la salvación. |
| To you (tú) | te | Te falta esperanza. |
| To him/her/you (usted) | le | Le duele el rechazo. |
| To us | nos | Nos encanta adorar a Dios. |
| To them/you all | les | Les interesa el evangelio. |
For clarity with third person (le/les), a prepositional phrase is often added: A ella le gusta predicar. — She likes to preach. A los pastores les importa el discipulado. — The pastors care about discipleship. A Juan le falta paz. — Juan lacks peace.
The Core Ministry Reverse-Subject Verbs
gustar — to like (lit. to be pleasing)
Me gusta predicar el evangelio. — I like preaching the gospel. ¿Te gusta el libro de los Salmos? — Do you like the book of Psalms? Les gusta adorar en su idioma. — They like worshiping in their language. Nos gustan las reuniones de oración. — We like prayer meetings.
encantar — to love / to delight in (lit. to enchant)
From the curriculum: Me encanta la adoración → I love worship.
Me encanta la adoración. — I love worship. Le encanta compartir el evangelio con extraños. — She loves sharing the gospel with strangers. Nos encanta ver la obra de Dios en esta comunidad. — We love seeing God’s work in this community. ¿Te encanta la Palabra de Dios? — Do you love the Word of God?
importar — to matter / to care about (lit. to be important to)
From the curriculum: Nos importa la salvación.
Nos importa la salvación de las almas. — We care about the salvation of souls. Me importa lo que le pasa a esta familia. — I care about what happens to this family. ¿Te importa el destino eterno de las personas? — Does the eternal destiny of people matter to you? A Dios le importa cada persona, sin excepción. — Every person matters to God, without exception.
molestar — to bother / to trouble (lit. to disturb)
Me molesta la injusticia que sufren los pobres. — The injustice the poor suffer bothers me. Le molesta que la iglesia no actúe ante el sufrimiento. — It troubles him that the church doesn’t act in the face of suffering. ¿Te molesta cuando alguien menosprecia a los necesitados? — Does it bother you when someone belittles the needy?
parecer — to seem / to appear (lit. to appear to)
Me parece que Dios está obrando de una manera nueva. — It seems to me that God is working in a new way. ¿Te parece bien comenzar con una oración? — Does it seem right to you to begin with a prayer? Les parece que el misionero es de confianza. — He seems trustworthy to them. Nos parece importante orar antes de tomar esta decisión. — It seems important to us to pray before making this decision.
faltar — to lack / to need (lit. to be lacking to)
From the curriculum: A ella le falta esperanza.
A ella le falta esperanza. — She lacks hope. (Hope is lacking to her.) Me falta fe para creer esto. — I lack faith to believe this. ¿Qué te falta en tu vida espiritual? — What are you lacking in your spiritual life? A esta comunidad le faltan líderes comprometidos. — This community lacks committed leaders. Nos falta oración — es lo más urgente. — We lack prayer — it is the most urgent need.
interesar — to interest (lit. to be interesting to)
Me interesa estudiar el Antiguo Testamento más a fondo. — I am interested in studying the Old Testament more deeply. ¿Te interesa el ministerio de misiones? — Are you interested in missions ministry? Les interesa saber más sobre la fe cristiana. — They are interested in knowing more about the Christian faith. Nos interesa todo lo que tiene que ver con el reino de Dios. — We are interested in everything that has to do with God’s kingdom.
doler — to hurt / to pain (lit. to be painful to)
Me duele ver el sufrimiento de esta comunidad. — It pains me to see this community’s suffering. Le duele el rechazo de su propia familia por su fe. — The rejection of his own family for his faith hurts him. ¿Te duele ver a alguien sin conocer a Cristo? — Does it pain you to see someone without knowing Christ? Nos duele la división en el cuerpo de Cristo. — The division in the body of Christ pains us.
The Interpretation Challenge
From the curriculum:
Interpretation challenge: These verbs trip up interpreters because they are grammatically backwards from English. Practice rapid rendering: Me encanta la adoración → I love worship. Drill until the reversal is automatic.
The specific challenge: in Me encanta la adoración, the grammatical subject in Spanish is la adoración (the worship). But in English, the subject is “I.” The interpreter who tries to follow the Spanish word order will produce “Worship enchants me” — technically accurate but unnatural.
The target is instantaneous rendering of the English equivalent, bypassing the grammatical analysis:
| Spanish | Do NOT say | DO say |
|---|---|---|
| Me gusta predicar. | ”Preaching pleases me." | "I like to preach.” |
| Me encanta la adoración. | ”Worship enchants me." | "I love worship.” |
| Nos importa la salvación. | ”Salvation is important to us." | "We care about salvation.” |
| Le falta esperanza. | ”Hope is lacking to her." | "She lacks hope.” / “She has no hope.” |
| Me duele verlo. | ”It pains me to see it.” (acceptable) | “It hurts me to see it.” / “Seeing it hurts.” |
| Le interesa el evangelio. | ”The gospel is interesting to him." | "He is interested in the gospel.” |
| Te parece bien. | ”It seems right to you." | "You think it’s right.” / “It seems right to you.” (acceptable) |
Gusta vs. Gustan: The Agreement Trap
The interpreter must hear whether gusta or gustan is used — but the English rendering is unaffected:
Me gusta la adoración. — I like worship. (singular subject: la adoración) Me gustan los Salmos. — I like the Psalms. (plural subject: los Salmos) Me gusta cantar. — I like to sing. (infinitive: always singular)
In English, “I like” is the same regardless. But the interpreter who mishears gustan as gusta should not worry — the English output is identical. The distinction matters only for production.
Practice Exercises
Exercise 1 — Reverse-Subject Conjugation
For each verb, produce four forms: me, te, le, nos + verb (singular subject):
gustar: me gusta / te gusta / le gusta / nos gusta encantar: me encanta / te encanta / le encanta / nos encanta importar: me importa / te importa / le importa / nos importa faltar: me falta / te falta / le falta / nos falta
Exercise 2 — Rapid Rendering Drill
A partner reads the Spanish. You give the natural English immediately — no hesitation, no analysis:
Me gusta predicar. → “I like to preach.” Nos importa la salvación. → “We care about salvation.” A ella le falta esperanza. → “She lacks hope.” Me encanta la adoración. → “I love worship.” Les interesa el evangelio. → “They are interested in the gospel.” Me duele ver el sufrimiento. → “It pains me to see the suffering.” ¿Te gusta la Palabra? → “Do you like the Word?” / “Do you enjoy the Word?” Le parece importante orar. → “It seems important to him to pray.” / “He thinks it’s important to pray.”
Exercise 3 — Ministry Paragraph Production
Produce a 5–7 sentence pastoral reflection using at least five different reverse-subject verbs. The reflection should describe what matters to a minister in their work.
Example opening: Me importa la salvación de cada persona. Me duele ver a alguien sin esperanza. Me encanta adorar a Dios con la comunidad…
Exercise 4 — Two-Direction Interpretation Practice
A partner reads a passage in English. You interpret into Spanish using reverse-subject verbs where appropriate:
“I love worshiping God.” → Me encanta adorar a Dios. “She lacks peace.” → A ella le falta paz. “We care about the poor.” → Nos importan los pobres. / Nos importa la situación de los pobres. “It bothers me to see this division.” → Me molesta ver esta división. “He seems interested in the gospel.” → Le parece interesante el evangelio. / Le interesa el evangelio.
Key Takeaways for This Lesson
Before moving to Lesson 4:
- Gustar and its family use indirect object pronouns: me, te, le, nos, les
- The verb agrees with the Spanish grammatical subject (the thing liked/felt), not with the person
- Infinitives always take the singular form: me gusta cantar (not me gustan cantar)
- Drill the reversal until it is automatic: me gusta → I like; me encanta → I love; le falta → she lacks; nos importa → we care about
- The eight core verbs: gustar, encantar, importar, molestar, parecer, faltar, interesar, doler
Daily Practice
Each day, produce one sentence using me gusta and one using me encanta about actual aspects of your faith life:
Me gusta [noun or infinitive]. Me encanta [noun or infinitive].
Then produce the English immediately after each Spanish sentence. This builds the reversal reflex — hearing the Spanish subject after the verb, and instantly mapping it to the English object.