Gustar, Encantar, and

Fascinar

Definitions
Gustar = to be pleasing / to like
Fascinar = to be very pleasing / to really

like
Encantar = to be extremely pleasing/ to
love (not to be confused with amar)

Subject Chart
me

nos

te

os

A l le
A ella le
A usted le

A ellos les
A ellas les
A ustedes les

With all the verbs,

you need to use

this chart for your
subject. If you
want to say he,
you will not use
l, you will use
a l le. It may
seem redundant;
it is used for
clarification.

Conjugations
All 3 verbs are only conjugated into two

forms the 3rd and 6th boxes.

Example: Gustar conjugates only into
gusta and gustan.
As you learn different tenses, this still
applies.

X X

Conjugations
In order to conjugate the verb, you must

figure out what is being liked (gustar),

what is being really liked (fascinar), or
loved (encantar) Once you found the
object, determine whether it is singular,
plural, or an infinitive.
3rd box is used for singular objects and
infinitives
6th box is used for plural objects

Examples
He likes the dogs.
In Spanish, you have to think backwards: The

dogs are pleasing to him.

First, you must go to the subject chart and find the

phrase for he.
A l le
Now, figure out what is being liked.
He likes what?... The dogs : los perros
Dogs is plural, so you will use gustan. Think
backwards. The object will always determine the
singular or plural verb (using these special
infinitives).
Put the phrases together, you get:
A l le gustan los perros.

 A l le gustan los perros.

Use gustan because the object is plural.
The dogs please is what you are

translating.
Use a l is used to make sure the
reader knows who le is referring to in
the sentence.
If you didnt have a l it could be
she or you. The real person who
likes the dogs is him. You insure that
the reader is not confused or mistakes
the subject.

Examples
We love to sing in school.

Who is our subject?... We nos

We love what?... To sing: cantar
Cantar

is an infinitive, so you use the singular

form of encantar: encanta

Nos encanta cantar en escuela.

Nos encanta cantar en escuela.

Use encanta because the object is
singular.
to sing is pleasing is what you are
translating.
Because with nos you can only refer
back to nosotros, you dont always have
to use a nos to insure that the reader is
not confused or mistakes the subject.

Practice
1.
2.
3.

They like the classes.

You (s. fam.) love fruit.
She really likes to dance.

Answers
1.
2.
3.

A ellos les gustan las clases.

Te encanta la fruta.
A ella le fascina bailar.
M = me (does not agree in gender or
number)
Mi = my (will agree in number)