gusta
/goos-tah/
Quick Reference
📝 In Action
Me gusta el café por la mañana.
A1I like coffee in the morning.
A mi madre le gusta caminar en el parque.
A1My mother likes to walk in the park.
¿No te gusta esta canción?
A1Don't you like this song?
A nosotros nos gusta mucho viajar.
A2We really like to travel.
💡 Grammar Points
The 'Backward' Verb Construction
Think of 'gusta' as 'is pleasing to'. The thing you like is the star of the sentence, not you! So, 'Me gusta el libro' literally means 'The book is pleasing to me'.
Use 'Gusta' for One Thing
Use 'gusta' when you like one single thing or an activity. If you like multiple things, you need to use its partner, 'gustan'. For example: 'Me gusta la pizza' (one thing) but 'Me gustan los tacos' (multiple things).
❌ Common Pitfalls
Using 'Yo' instead of 'Me'
Mistake: "Yo gusto el chocolate."
Correction: Me gusta el chocolate. With this verb, you must use words like 'me', 'te', 'le' to show *who* finds the thing pleasing. You can't use 'yo', 'tú', etc., in that spot.
⭐ Usage Tips
Adding Emphasis or Clarity
If you want to make it extra clear who likes something, you can add 'A mí', 'A ti', 'A él' at the beginning. It's like saying 'As for me...'. For example: 'A mí me gusta el verano'.
🔄 Conjugations
indicative
present
preterite
imperfect
subjunctive
present
imperfect
✏️ Quick Practice
💡 Quick Quiz: gusta
Question 1 of 2
Which sentence correctly says 'I like the dogs'?
📚 More Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
Why can't I just say 'Yo gusto...' like I say 'Yo como...'?
It's a great question! 'Gustar' works differently than most verbs. Instead of you doing an action *to* something (like eating a taco), with 'gustar', the thing is doing an action *to you* (the taco is 'pleasing' to you). That's why the sentence structure is flipped and you need 'me', 'te', 'le', etc.
So 'gusta' is only for 'he/she/it'? What if *I* like something?
You're right that 'gusta' is the 'he/she/it' form of the verb. But remember, the subject of the sentence is the *thing being liked*. So if you like one apple ('la manzana'), the apple is the 'it' in the sentence, which is why we use 'gusta'. We show that *you* are the one who likes it by putting 'me' in front: 'Me gusta la manzana'.