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2.4: El verbo "gustar"

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    The verb "gustar"

    Observations

    • In the expression: "El gusto es mío", the noun "gusto" means "pleasure".
    • As a verb, "gustar" means "to please" or "to be pleasing (to someone)".
    • Spanish does not have a verb that directly means "to like". The closest verb for expressing likes and dislikes is the verb "gustar".
    • Since "gustar" means "to please", a sentence in Spanish using a direct "subject-verb" conjugation like in English would be:
    English Spanish
    I like Spanish. not equal sign Yo gusto español.
        downward arrow
        I please Spanish.
        downward black arrow.png
        As you can see, this sentence is incorrect.

    To express likes in Spanish using "gustar", we will have to invert the subject pronoun and the direct object:

    • The "someone" doing the action of liking is now receiving the action of being pleased.
    • The "something" being liked is now doing the action of pleasing.
    • The following chart shows the change of the "someone" as subject pronoun (crossed out) to "someone" as the receiver of the action (indirect object pronoun=IOP).
    • The clarifier is the indirect object (IO). It clarifies who the IOP refers to.

    (In the chart below, all words in blue reflect the replacement of the normal subject pronouns that are now the IOP and the clarifier (IO)).

    subject pronoun IOP clarifier subject pronoun IOP clarifier
    yo → me = a mí nosotros, nosotras → nos = a nosotros/as
    tú → te = a ti vosotros, vosotras → os = a vosotros/as
    usted → le = a usted ustedes → les = a ustedes
    él → le = a él ellos → les = a ellos
    ella → le = a ella ellas → les = a ellas
    • The indirect object nouns (a + prepositional pronoun/noun) are added to emphasize or clarify who it is pleasing to.
    • You will only use the verb "gustar" in the 3rd person singular or plural: "gusta" or "gustan".

    Six key things that are different with the verb "gustar"

    1. It always uses an indirect object pronoun.
    2. It may also use and IO as clarifier: "a + name or prepositional pronoun or noun".
    3. The clarifier goes in front of the sentence.
    4. It only has two conjugations: "gusta" for actions (verbs in the infinitive -whether there is one or more than one verb) or for a singular noun; or "gustan" for plural nouns.
    5. It is conjugated based on what comes after it.
    6. If it is followed by a noun, it must include the definite article. If it is followed by a verb, the verb is not conjugated (infinitive) and the definite article is not used.

    Complete conjugation

    (In the chart below, all words in blue are used in sentences with the verb "gustar" in replacement of the normal subject pronouns.)

    With verbs:

    clarifier IOP verb subject pronoun (verb) clarifier IOP verb subject pronoun (verb)
    A mí me gusta estudiar español. A nosotros, a nosotras nos gusta estudiar español.
    A ti te gusta estudiar español. A vosotros, a vosotras os gusta estudiar español.
    A usted le gusta estudiar español. A ustedes les gusta estudiar español.
    A él le gusta estudiar español. A ellos les gusta estudiar español.
    A ella le gusta estudiar español. A ellas les gusta estudiar español.

    With singular nouns:

    clarifier IOP verb subject pronoun (sing. noun) clarifier IOP verb subject pronoun (sing. noun)
    A mí me gusta la clase de español. A nosotros, a nosotras nos gusta la clase de español.
    A ti te gusta la clase de español. A vosotros, a vosotras os gusta la clase de español.
    A usted le gusta la clase de español. A ustedes les gusta la clase de español.
    A él le gusta la clase de español. A ellos les gusta la clase de español.
    A ella le gusta la clase de español. A ellas les gusta la clase de español.

    With plural nouns:

    clarifier IOP verb subject pronoun (pl. noun) clarifier IOP verb subject pronoun (pl. noun)
    A mí me gustan los idiomas. A nosotros, a nosotras nos gustan los idiomas.
    A ti te gustan los idiomas. A vosotros, a vosotras os gustan los idiomas.
    A usted le gustan los idiomas. A ustedes les gustan los idiomas.
    A él le gustan los idiomas. A ellos les gustan los idiomas.
    A ella le gustan los idiomas. A ellas les gustan los idiomas.

    To express dislike, simply place the "no" directly in front of the IOP:

    clarifier no IOP verb subject pronoun clarifier no IOP verb subject pronoun
    A Elsa no le gusta la música clásica. A ellos no les gusta la música Reggaetón.
    A ti no te gusta cenar tarde. A nosotros no nos gusta cantar.
    A mí no me gustan las matemáticas. A vosotros no os gustan los problemas.

    When expressing that you like something very much, the word "mucho" is always placed directly after the verb "gustar":

    clarifier IOP verb subject pronoun clarifier IOP verb subject pronoun
    A Tito le gusta mucho la fruta. A nosotros nos gusta mucho la fruta.
    A mí me gusta mucho viajar. A las chicas les gusta mucho viajar.
    A usted le gustan mucho los chocolates. A ustedes les gustan mucho los chocolates.

    This page titled 2.4: El verbo "gustar" is shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by M. Barrio De Mendoza, K Gutiérrez, H.Ho, C. Lin, & A Stere Lugo (ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative) .