Verbs like gustar
A lesson from the A2 course: the rule, examples and a 9-sentence test. The course is reviewed by people.
Lesson
Verbs like 'gustar' – Expressing Preferences and Feelings
In Spanish, when you want to say you 'like' something, it's not quite like in English. Instead of saying 'I like coffee', you effectively say 'Coffee is pleasing to me'. This is a crucial difference! Verbs like gustar, encantar, and interesar work this way because the thing or activity you like is the subject of the sentence, and the person experiencing the feeling is the indirect object.
Think of it this way: instead of 'I like coffee', you're literally saying 'Coffee is pleasing to me'. This means the verb always agrees with the thing (the subject) that is liked, not with the person who likes it.
| For whom? | Stressed Pronoun | Indirect Object Pronoun |
|---|---|---|
| I | A mí | me |
| you (informal singular) | A ti | te |
| he/she/you (formal singular) | A él/ella/usted | le |
| we | A nosotros/as | nos |
| you (informal plural, Spain) | A vosotros/as | os |
| they/you (formal plural) | A ellos/ellas/ustedes | les |
A mí me gusta el café.
Coffee is pleasing to me. / I like coffee.
You'll notice that the verb gustar only has two main forms in the present tense: gusta (for a singular subject) and gustan (for a plural subject). Other verbs of this type follow the same pattern.
Nos gustan las películas.
Movies are pleasing to us. / We like movies.
| Subject | Verb Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | gusta | Me gusta el café. |
| Plural | gustan | Me gustan los libros. |
- Other common verbs that follow this 'gustar' pattern include:
- encantar (to love, to be enchanted by)
- interesar (to interest)
- importar (to matter, to be important to)
- doler (to hurt, to ache)
- aburrir (to bore)
- molestar (to bother, to annoy)
- fascinar (to fascinate)
- parecer (to seem)
The subject is 'el chocolate' (singular), so the verb must be in the 3rd person singular.
The verb doler (to hurt or ache) also follows this pattern. We use it when talking about body parts, which act as the subject of the sentence.
Le duelen los pies.
His feet hurt. (Literally: The feet hurt him.)
Practise regularly, and you'll soon master these unique but incredibly useful verbs! Good luck! 🚀
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