How to use Verbs like Gustar inSpanish

Early onwhen you are studying Spanish, you probably learned the phrase “me gusta”. Me gusta this, me gusta that. While you are somewhat correct that it means “I like this, I like that”, it would be more correct to say “This is pleasing to me, that is pleasing to me”. That is why the verb conjugates differently than say “comer”.

In English theverb“like” is used as follows:

  • I like Spanish class.
  • You like flowers.

But Spanish is different. Theverb“gustar”in Spanish depends on “what you like” and not the person who likes”

  • Megusta la clasede español.
  • Tegustanlasflores.

As you can see, theverbis conjugated according to the noun not the person. In the first sentence there is“gusta”because the noun is“la clase”thus is singular. The second sentence uses“gustan”because the noun is“lasflores”and is plural. The form of gustar and the noun have to agree with each other.

Additionally,“Gustar”is preceded by an indirect object pronoun (me / te etc.). This indicates that the person is performing the action (of liking).

The conjugation of the verb“gustar”in present tense is pretty easy since you really are learning the aforementioned two terms:

(yo)→ (a mí)Megusta / gustan

(tú)→ (a tí)Tegusta / gustan

(él/ella)→ (a él/ella)Legusta / gustan

(nosotros)→ (a nosotros)Nosgusta / gustan

(ellos/ellas)→ (a ellos/ellas)Lesgusta / gustan

(ustedes)→ (a ustedes)Lesgusta / gustan

Here are some more examples in sentences:

Te gustala fiesta–Youliketheparty.

Te gustanlas fiestas.-You like the parties.

Nosgustala canción. –We like the song.

Nosgustanlascanciones. –We like the songs.

Me gustabailar. –I like to dance.

NOTE:If the thing liked is not a noun but an action (expressed by a verb in the infinitive),“gustar”is used in the third person singular.

Also NOTE:The indirect object (a mí, a tí etc.) normally precedes the indirect object pronoun when you want to:

  1. clarify the indirect object pronouns“le”and“les”
  2. give emphasis (to me, to you etc.)

For example:

A Tina nole gustavolar.–Tina doesn´t like to fly. (literally “To Tina, she doesn’t like to fly)

A los estudiantes noles gustanlos exámenes.–Thestudentsdon´tlikeexams.(literally “To the students, they don’t like the exams)

A Cándidale gustael pastel.–Candida likes the cake.(literally “ToCándida, she likes the cake)

A míme gustadormir.–I like to sleep. (literally “To me, I like to sleep)

Gustarisn’t the one verb that has these funky rules. Check out below for some very common verbs. Fortunately, they all work in the same manner.

Encantar:to love (like in a strong way)

  • Me encantanlos conciertos.–I love the concerts.

Parecer:to seem

  • Nospareciócorta la película.–The film seemed short to us.
  • Nosparecieronaburridos los cuentos.–The stories seemed boring to us.

NOTE:sincepareceris usually followed by an adjective, the adjective must agree in number and gender with the item described.

Doler:to be painful, to cause sorrow

  • Me duelela cabeza.–I have a headache.

Faltar:to be lacking, to need

  • Me faltancincodólares.–I lack (need) five dollars.

Quedar (a uno):to remain (to someone), to have left

  • Le quedaundía de vacaciones.–He has one day of vacation left.

Tocar (a uno):to be one’s turn

  • A titetocasacar la basura.–It’s your turn to take out the garbage.

Here are some other verbs that use the same form of “gustar” and the others stated above:

Aburrir–to bore.

Bastar–to be sufficient.

Caerbien / mal–to like someone.

Disgustar –to dislike something.

Fascinar–to be fascinating to.

Importar–to be important to.

Interesar–to be interesting to.

Molestar– to be a bother.

Picar–to itch.

Volver loco–to be crazy about.