There is a huge number of Spanish verbs out there, but gustar is a very special one. It needs to be explained and learned individually.
On one hand, gustar is a simple non-irregular verb that is conjugated just like trabajar and cantar. On the other hand, it’s special, because it requires dative pronouns.
Me gusta esta película – I like this movie
¿Te gusta tu vida? – Do you like your life?
The difficulty of this verb lies in the translation from English. In English the most common way to express a preference is using the verb to like: I like, you like, she likes. The form of this verb depends on a person, whose preferences we are talking about.
In Spanish it’s different. The verb gustar takes the form of an object that produces the preference, but it’s directed to a person by means of the dative pronoun.
Me gusta España
For the sake of comprehension, you can think of gustar as very similar to such English verbs as to appeal, to seem, or even to fancy.
This movie appeals to me
Mr. Sanchez seems very kind to me
She fancies me
These English verbs work the same way as the Spanish gustar.
Me gusta España
Don’t say: Yo gusto España
Me gusta España sounds just like Spain appeals to me, where España is the main subject.
The difference is that the subject España appears after the predicate gusta. You can wrongly think, that me is the main subject, but it’s not. So, the verb gustar is related to España, not to me.
Now, take a look at the whole list of dative pronouns that are used with gustar.
yo — me gusta español
tú — te gusta español
él — le gusta español
ella — le gusta español
usted — le gusta español
nosotros — nos gusta español
vosotros — os gusta español
ellos — les gusta español
ellas — les gusta español
ustedes — les gusta español
This is not the conjugation of gustar. This is the conjugation of the dative pronouns: me, te, le, nos, os, les.
Try it yourself:
yo – me gusta la música
tú – te …
él, ella, usted – …
nosotros – …
vosotros – …
ellos, ellas, ustedes – les gusta la música
Nos gusta el chocolate — We like the chocolate
Le gusta este hotel — He likes this hotel
¿Os gusta mi vestido? — Do you like my dress?
Les gusta Armenia — They like Armenia
Try it yourself:
I like Carmen
She likes our flat
Do you like this concert?
We like to eat ice-cream
Do you like to dance?
As you could possibly guess, an infinitive can also be used as the main subject.
Me gusta viajar
¿Te gusta cocinar?
If the main subject has plural form, gustar should be in plural, as well.
Me gusta la flor — Me gustan las flores
Me gustan estos hoteles — I like these hotels
Te gustan las revistas de moda — You like fashion magazines
Os gustan las chicas francesas — You like French girls
Don’t say: Me gusta estos hoteles
Try it yourself:
I like this car
I like these cars
You like the beach in Malaga
You like the beaches in Malaga
They like this candy
They like these candies
With infinitives gustar is always singular.
Nos gusta comer fruta
Nos gusta comer frutas
Apart from gusta and gustan, this verb can be used in other forms, too. We can conjugate it as a simple verb in Presente de Indicativo.
yo gusto
tú gustas
él, ella, usted gusta
nosotros gustamos
vosotros gustáis
ellos, ellas, ustedes gustan
Combining a needed dative pronoun with a needed form of gustar, you can achieve different meanings.
Me gustas – I like you
Te gusto – Yo like me
Nos gustan – We like them
Try it yourself:
Me gustáis
Nos gustan ustedes
Te gustamos
Le gusto
We like you
He likes you (vosotros)
They like me
We like you (usted)
The verb gustar isn’t reflexive. Dative pronouns can seem similar to reflexive pronouns. The difference is that reflexive pronouns always take the same form as the verb: me levanto. Levanto is the first person singular (yo), and me is the first person singular (yo), as well.
In contrast, the verb gustar and dative pronouns are referred to different persons: me gusta.
If you say Me gusto (I like myself), okay, it will be reflexive then.
To put gustar into a negative form, place no before the dative pronoun.
No me gusta el invierno – I don’t like winter
No nos gusta estudiar – We don’t like studying
No le gustas – He doesn’t like you
Try it yourself:
I don’t like swimming in a river
Don’t you like this house? (vosotros)
You don’t like me
Don’t get confused in this variety of forms, trying to figure out who likes whom. Every pronoun form and every verb’s ending have their exact meaning, but don’t depend on each other. Don’t use them randomly. As gusta and gustan are used more frequently, learn them first.
Ejercicio 1
Translate into Spanish
A
1. I like your car
2. I like Pablo’s house
3. I like learning Spanish
4. I like reading books
5. I like Lucia
6. You like my car
7. Do you like my jacket?
8. You like Miguel
9. You like playing the guitar
10. You like listening to music
B
1. We like gazpacho
2. You like still mineral water (vosotros)
3. In the summer he likes going to the forest
4. In the winter we like the snow
5. She likes the sea
6. They like eating chocolate
7. He likes drinking coffee
8. You like walking around the city in the evening (ustedes)
9. I like going to the beach in the morning
10. You like speaking French (usted)
C
1. I like modern planes
2. You like the restaurants in Madrid
3. We like books about love
4. They like Latin American girls
5. You like seafood (vosotros)
6. He likes sport motorbikes
7. Do you like animals? (usted)
8. She likes rich men
9. Do you like foreign languages?
10. You like the beaches in Greece
D
1. I like drinking tea
2. I don’t like drinking coffee
3. You like elephants
4. You don’t like penguins
5. Why don’t you like penguins?
6. We don’t like our boss
7. Do you like your boss? (vosotros)
8. They don’t like expensive shops
9. You don’t like alcoholic drinks (ustedes)
10. Don’t you like your son’s girlfriend?
E
1. I like you
2. And do you like me?
3. No, I don’t like you
4. They don’t like us
5. She likes you a lot
6. Why don’t you like her? (usted)
7. She likes you, too (vosotros)
8. She doesn’t like you, either (vosotros)
9. Do you think, he likes me?
10. I think that, she doesn’t like you (usted)
11. We like you a lot (vosotros)