dóeme / encántame
Verbs Like Gustar
Build these like gústame: Dóeme a cabeza (I have a headache; literally the head hurts me), Encántame Compostela (I love Compostela), Apetéceche un café? (Do you feel like a coffee?).
How It Works
The pattern: verb + indirect pronoun + thing. The thing is the grammatical subject: Encántame o mar (I love the sea), Encántanme os gatos (I love cats).
Common verbs: doer (to hurt), encantar (to delight, to love), apetecer (to feel like), importar (to mind, to matter), interesar (to interest), molestar (to bother), preocupar (to worry).
The pronouns: use the indirect object pronouns. In the standard, you is che here, not te: Encántache? (Do you love it?). See te versus che.
Pronoun position: in a plain statement the pronoun follows the verb, which often adds a written accent: dóeme, apetéceche. After non or a question word it goes before the verb: Non me importa (I don't mind), Que che doe? (What hurts?). See enclisis.
Body parts: use the article, not a possessive: Dóeme a cabeza, not a miña cabeza. See the article with body parts.
Naming the person: add a + a noun or a stressed pronoun for clarity or emphasis, and keep the unstressed pronoun too: A Brais interésalle moito a historia (Brais is very interested in history), A min encántame (I love it). See stressed pronouns.
Examples (6)
- Dóeme a cabeza.
I have a headache.
Word by Word: Hurts-me the head.
The article, not a possessive, with body parts.
- Dóenme os pés despois de camiñar tanto.
My feet hurt after walking so much.
Word by Word: Hurt-me the feet after of walking so-much.
Plural subject, plural verb.
- Encántame Compostela.
I love Compostela.
Word by Word: Delights-me Compostela.
- Apetéceche un café?
Do you feel like a coffee?
Word by Word: Appeals-to-you a coffee?
che, not te, for you.
- Non me importa esperar.
I don't mind waiting.
Word by Word: Not me matters to-wait.
After non, the pronoun goes before the verb.
- A Brais interésalle moito a historia.
Brais is very interested in history.
Word by Word: To Brais interests-him much the history.
a + the person, with lle kept.
Common Mistakes
Keeping the verb singular with a plural subject.
Dóeme os pés.Dóenme os pés.The verb agrees with the thing that hurts. Os pés is plural, so the verb is dóen.
Starting the sentence with the pronoun.
Me doe a cabeza.Dóeme a cabeza.An unstressed pronoun never begins a Galician sentence. In a plain statement it follows the verb.
Using te instead of che.
Te encanta o mar?Encántache o mar?Encantar takes an indirect object, so the standard form for you is che. Te is heard this way in some areas, but it is not standard. In a yes/no question the pronoun follows the verb.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Verbs such as doer and encantar use the affected-person pattern already seen with gustar.
Related Patterns
- me / che / lle / nos / vos / llesIndirect Object Pronouns
The pronouns used for the person.
Level 2 - te / cheTe vs. Che
Why these verbs take che, not te.
Level 2 - a min taménStressed Pronouns for Emphasis
Stressed pronouns for emphasis, as in a min encántame.
Level 2 - The Article With Body Parts
Why Galician says a cabeza, not a miña cabeza.
Level 3 - Pronouns After the Verb
Why the pronoun follows the verb in a plain statement.
Level 2
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice dóeme / encántame in Bubblegum
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