- Understand how gustar works differently from "to like" in English
- Use me gusta/gustan to express basic likes and dislikes
- Form simple sentences with gustar for singular and plural items
- Express preferences in simple conversations
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Gustar: me gusta, te gusta, le gusta
What You'll Learn
Overview / Usage
Gustar is one of Spanish's most unique verbs because it works backwards from English. Instead of saying "I like pizza", Spanish literally says "Pizza pleases me" or "Pizza is pleasing to me". Once you understand this logic, expressing likes, dislikes, and preferences becomes natural.
🔄 The Backwards Logic of Gustar
Think of gustar as meaning "to be pleasing to" rather than "to like". This helps explain why the grammar works differently.
English Logic:
"I like pizza"
(I am the subject doing the liking)
"I like pizza"
(I am the subject doing the liking)
Spanish Logic:
"Me gusta la pizza"
(Pizza is pleasing to me)
"Me gusta la pizza"
(Pizza is pleasing to me)
The thing being liked is the subject of the sentence, and the person who likes it receives the action through an indirect object pronoun (me, te, le, nos, os, les).
Structure & Formation
📐 The Gustar Structure
[Indirect Object Pronoun] + [Gustar] + [Thing Being Liked]
Me
to me
to me
gusta
is pleasing
is pleasing
la pizza
pizza
pizza
🎯 Gustar Only Has Two Forms
GUSTA (singular)
Use when one thing is liked
Me gusta el café
I like coffee
Te gusta bailar
You like to dance
GUSTAN (plural)
Use when multiple things are liked
Me gustan las frutas
I like fruits
Les gustan los deportes
They like sports
🔧 Common Verbs That Work Like Gustar (A1 Extension)
Once you've mastered gustar, you can learn these similar verbs. They follow the same pattern - they use indirect object pronouns and the thing being experienced is the subject.
encantar (to love/adore)
Me encanta la música
I love music
molestar (to bother/annoy)
Me molesta el ruido
Noise bothers me
doler (to hurt/ache)
Me duele la cabeza
My head hurts
Examples
💬 Expressing Preferences
¿Te gusta el chocolate?
Do you like chocolate?
Sí, me encanta
Yes, I love it
¿Qué tipo de música te gusta?
What type of music do you like?
Me gustan el rock y el jazz
I like rock and jazz
A mi hermano le gustan los videojuegos
My brother likes video games
Nos gusta cocinar juntos
We like cooking together
Gotchas / Common Mistakes
❌ Don't Confuse Subject and Object
Wrong:Yo gusto pizza
Correct:Me gusta la pizza
Remember: pizza is the subject doing the pleasing, you are receiving the pleasure
💡 Singular vs Plural Agreement
One thing = gusta
Me gusta estudiar
I like to study
Multiple things = gustan
Me gustan los libros
I like books
Quick Test / Mini Quiz
💖 Interactive Gustar Verbs Quiz
Test your knowledge of Spanish gustar verbs and backwards logic!
1
📚 How do you say 'I like books'?
2
🏊 What's the correct way to say 'She likes to swim'?
3
🎬 How would you ask 'Do you like Spanish films?'
4
🍫 How do you say 'I love chocolate'?
5
🎮 Which is correct: 'They like video games'?
6
🍳 How do you say 'We like cooking together'?
7
🔊 Which sentence means 'Noise bothers me'?
8
🤕 How do you say 'My head hurts'?
Useful Resources
Coming soon...