The Verb gustar
By Jami Sipe
© 2010 Teacher’s Discovery

Me gusta is often translated as “I like.”
Ejemplos:
Me gusta la pizza. = (I like pizza.)
Me gusta el coche rojo. = (I like the red car.)
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Actually, the verb gustar does not translate well into English.
Por ejemplo:
In English, we would say, “I like the book.” but the meaning is really closer to
“I am pleased by the book,” or “The book pleases me,” or “The book is pleasing to me.”
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Otro ejemplo:
Le gustan los panqueques. =
(He is pleased by the pancakes.)
In English, we would say:
He likes pancakes.
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Ejemplos:
Me gusta la manzana. =
(I like the apple.)
Me gustan las galletas. =
(I like cookies.)
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Gustar is almost always used with
indirect object pronouns.
Singular Plural me (to me) nos (to us)
te (to you, familiar) le (to you, formal/him/her) os (to you, ya’ll, you all familiar - Spain) les (to you/them)
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Use this formula!
(indirect object pronoun)
+ form of gustar + what you like
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Ejemplos:
Me gusta la música. =
(I like music.)
Le gusta la música. =
(He/She likes music.)
(You (formal) like the music.)
Nos gusta la música. =
(We like music.)
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Remember, the verb is conjugated to agree with the subject of the sentence.
With gustar the subject is the thing or things you like.
• Use gusta if the thing you like is singular.
Ejemplo: Me gusta el libro. = (I like the book.)
• Use gustan if the things you like are plural.
Ejemplo: Me gustan los tacos. = (I like tacos.)
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Ejemplos:
Singular
• Me gusta la casa. = (I like the house.)
• Te gusta el cuarto. = (You [familiar] like the room.)
• Le gusta la silla. = (He/She likes the chair./You
[formal] like the chair.)
• Nos gusta el hotel. = (We like the hotel.)
• ¿Os gusta la comida? = (Do you all [familiar] like the meal?)
• Les gusta el reloj. = (You all like the clock./They like the clock.)
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Plural
Más ejemplos:
• Me gustan las casas. = (I like the houses.)
• Te gustan los cuartos. = (You [familiar] like the rooms.)
• Le gustan las sillas. = (He/She likes the chairs./You
[formal] like the chairs.)
• Nos gustan los hoteles. = (We like the hotels.)
• Os gustan las comidas. = (You all [familiar] like the meals.)
• Les gustan los relojes. = (You all like the clocks./They all like the clocks.)
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You can also use gustar with an infinitive!
Ejemplos:
Me gusta nadar. = (I like to swim.)
Te gusta correr. = (You like to run.)
Nos gusta leer. = (We like to read.)
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To say someone does not like something, or does not like to do something use “no” before the phrase.
Ejemplos:
No me gusta el pescado. =
(I don’t like fish.)
No me gusta patinar. =
(I do not like to skate .)
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Look closely at this example:
It is impossible to tell whether this means:
1. He likes the chair.
2. She likes the chair.
3. You [formal] like the chair.
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The sentence may begin with a clarifying prepositional phrase:
• A él le gusta la silla.
• A ella le gusta la casa.
• A usted le gusta la bandera.
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When you want to emphasize or identify the person you are talking about, use:
A
+ name: example – A Ana le gusta bailar. =
(Ana likes to dance.) noun: example – Al doctor le gusta trabajar. =
(The doctor likes to work.) pronoun: example – A nosotros nos gusta estudiar. =
(We like to study.)
a mí – me gusta
a ti – te gusta
a usted, él, ella – le gusta
These pronouns follow a :
a nosotros/as – nos gusta
a vosotros/as – os gusta
a ustedes, ellos/as – les gusta
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I like to read.
We like Spanish.
She likes the book.
He likes to dance.
They don’t like the flowers.
You (familiar) like the shoes.
We like to run .
You (formal) do not like desserts.
Me gusta leer.
Nos gusta el español.
(A ella) le gusta el libro.
(A él) le gusta bailar.
No les gustan las flores.
(A ti) te gustan los zapatos.
(A nosotros) nos gusta correr.
(A usted) no le gustan los postres.
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Other verbs which work in the same way are:
Interesar
– to be interesting to
Ex: Me interesa el arte – Art is interesting to me
Aburrir
– to be bored by
Ex: ¡Me aburre la historia! = History bores me!
Encantar* - this one is hard to translate, but is used when you love something, like pizza!! Root word: to be “enchanted/delighted by”
Ex: ¡Me encanta la pizza! = I love pizza!
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Credits
©2010 Teacher’s Discovery
Written by: Jami Sipe
Additional Information by:
Suzanne Rutkowski
Adriana Miretti
Adapted by: Señora Ranucci
© 2010 Teacher’s Discovery