Gustar

[Apalánter]

Pattern: The verb Gustar means “to please.”

Introduction
Spanish has a different way of expressing positive feelings about people and things. In English, the subject of a sentence “likes” something or someone else. In Spanish, that thing or person “pleases” the subject instead.

Gustar Basics
Instead of saying that people like chocolate, for example, you would say that chocolate pleases them. It seems a little backwards at first, but they are really two ways of expressing the same idea: people have good feelings about chocolate. Consider the following Spanish sentence:

El chocolate me gusta.

This sentence means “I like chocolate,” but it literally says “Chocolate pleases me.” The subject of the sentence is the chocolate, not I. That is why gustar in this case is conjugated as gusta, NOT gusto.

More Gustar
When you understand who the subject of the sentence is, it is clear how the verb gustar will be conjugated in most cases. It is almost always conjugated as gusta(one thing or person) or gustan(more than one).
The part of the sentence that will change based on who has positive feelings is the object pronoun. Consider this example:

La pizza me gusta. I like pizza. ( Pizza pleases me)

La pizza nos gusta. We like pizza. (Pizza pleases us)

You have learned to conjugate verbs based on who is performing the action. But as you can see here, the verb form is the same in both sentences. This is because the pizza is actually the subject of the sentence, and we are only receiving the pleasure.

Word Order
That all seems logical when you think about it, but it becomes more difficult when you realize that the word order of these sentences is flexible. It is acceptable to say

La pizza me gusta. I like pizza.

but it is actually more common to say

Me gusta la pizza. I like pizza.

Don't let this confuse you! The subject of the sentence is still the pizza. That is why the verb is gusta, NOT gusto.
Just remember that you will almost always use the two forms gusta (for singular nouns)and gustan (for plural nouns).

Examples:
Me gusta el chocolate. (singular noun)

Me gustan los pantalones. (plural noun)

Me gusta jugar al tenis.

Other People
Notice that the pronoun changes depending on the person. Although not always necessary, you may use the words in parentheses for emphasis and clarification. Notice that the pronoun "le" is used to refer to "she", "he" and "usted." For clarification, it is often necessary to use the words in parentheses to specify whom you are talking about.

(A mí) me gusta el chocolate. -- I like chocolate.

(A ti) te gusta la pizza. -- You like pizza.

(A ella) legusta bailar. -- She like to dance.

(A él) le gusta dibujar. -- He likes to draw.

(A Carlos) le gusta pintar. -- Carlos likes to paint.

(A usted)le gusta la fruta. -- You (formal) like fruit.

(A nosotros/as) nos gusta caminar. -- We like to walk.

(A ellos) les gusta ir al cine. -- They like to go to the movies.

(A ellas) les gusta leer. -- They like to read.

(A ustedes) les gusta cantar. -- You all like to sing.

Negative
To make a negative sentence, simply put "no" before the pronoun.
No me gustan las manzanas. -- I don't like apples.
No nos gustan las manzanas. -- We don't like apples.

Questions and Answers
To make questions with gustar, follow this pattern.

¿Te gusta jugar deportes? -- Do you like to play sports?

Sí, me gusta jugar deportes. -- Yes, I like to play sports.

No, no me gusta jugar deportes. -- No, I don't like to play sports.

¿A ella le gustan las verduras? -- Does she like vegetables?

Sí, le gustan las verduras. -- Yes, she likes vegetables.

No, no le gustan verduras. -- No, she doesn't like vegetables.

¿Qué te gusta hacer? -- What do you like to do?

Me gusta jugar deportes. -- I like to play sports.

[chileno]

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dicti...0&t=1297917515

See entry #1

[pinosilano]

Originally Posted by chileno

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dicti...0&t=1297917515

See entry #1

Taste=sabor.
Like=gusto.

The taste of the defeat
I don't like to be defeat.

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by pinosilano

Taste=sabor.
Like=gusto.

The taste of the defeat
I don't like to be defeat.

defeated

[irmamar]

No se "juegan deportes". Los deportes se practican. También se puede jugar a un deporte.

[chileno]

Originally Posted by chileno

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dicti...0&t=1297917515

See entry #1

Originally Posted by pinosilano

Taste=sabor.
Like=gusto.

The taste of the defeat
I don't like to be defeat.

Sorry, I forgot to write "also #5"

[pinosilano]

Originally Posted by Perikles

defeated

defeated

[aleCcowaN]

Originally Posted by Apalánter

This sentence means “I like chocolate,” but it literally says “Chocolate pleases me.” The subject of the sentence is the chocolate, not I. That is why gustar in this case is conjugated as gusta, NOT gusto.

It literally says "Me gusta el chocolate", that is, "I like chocolate", not "chocolate pleases me". If I said "chocolate pleases me", I get some chocolate and the result is I am pleased. If I said "me gusta el chocolate" and I get some, I'm not "gustado", the same way that having some of that chocolate I like doesn't mean I'm liked. The gustar/please comparison only is useful to introduce a new structure, but it's not the best idea dealing with grammar as if it is semantics.

[Sancho Panther]

Portuguese - in many ways similar to Spanish - and in more ways different, uses gostar, but it means exactly the same as the English verb 'like'.

Fazem-o intencionalmente para confudir-nos!

[Luna Azul]

"Gustar" means "to like"

"to please" is "placer"

There's a difference between "please" and "like" in English and in Spanish also.

"Placer" is used with the same construction as "gustar": "Me place". The meaning is similar but not exactly the same.

We don't say things like "Esta casa me place", for example. It sounds weird. In that sentence we use "gustar".

"placer" is normally used with concepts, not objects: "me place estar aquí", "nos place mucho que hayas venido".

The only reason why "to please" is used when teaching "gustar" is that it makes it easier to understand since the construction in English for "please" is closer to Spanish than the construction for "like".

It's a useful tool for teachers to explain the verb. That's all.

[chileno]

Alguien dijo Taste = sabor

Yo diría que más bien sería saborear, si así se va a usar.

por otro lado, taste= gusto y (de)gustar, creo no?

[Sancho Panther]

The most significant difference between the verbs 'like' and 'gustar' is that the person is the subject of the verb 'like' and the thing being liked is the object; whereas with 'gustar' the reverse applies - the person is the object of the verb and the thing is the subject.

For example "I (subject) like bananas (object)" whilst the Spanish translation would be - "Me (object) gustan los platanos (subject)".

I'm sure there are many beginners who refer to Tomísimo and are perhaps unsure of how 'gustar' works, and I am offering this in the hope it is of assistance.

I know the correct use of 'gustar' took a long time to penetrate my thick skull, and I expect many others find it difficult too!

[laepelba]

So, the other day, a Peruvian friend says to me: "Si gustas, podemos comer ......" I knew what she meant ... but was surprised by the grammar construction. When I asked her about it, she really couldn't explain the "why", she could only just tell me what she meant. This is the first time that I'm aware of that I have heard a native speaker conjugate "gustar" in other than the third person. Huh????

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by laepelba

So, the other day, a Peruvian friend says to me: "Si gustas, podemos comer ......" I knew what she meant ... but was surprised by the grammar construction. When I asked her about it, she really couldn't explain the "why", she could only just tell me what she meant. This is the first time that I'm aware of that I have heard a native speaker conjugate "gustar" in other than the third person. Huh????

Good question - I'd be interested myself. On a similar note, I've just found this in my dictionary under gustar:

2 gustar de algo to like something; es muy serio, no gusta de bromas he is very serious, he doesn't like jokes; no gusta de alabanzas she doesn't like to be praised, she doesn't like o enjoy being praised;

Now this gusta is also 3rd singular, but in the above, could it be adapted to eres muy serio, no gustas de bromas ??? (or is there a le missing)

[laepelba]

Originally Posted by Perikles

Now this gusta is also 3rd singular, but in the above, could it be adapted to eres muy serio, no gustas de bromas ??? (or is there a le missing)

"... no gustaS de bromas..."????? .... YES, that is what has me messed up. I didn't have any trouble with gustar until two days ago.

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by laepelba

"... no gustaS de bromas..."????? .... YES, that is what has me messed up. I didn't have any trouble with gustar until two days ago.

And I didn't have any trouble with it until 15 minutes ago

[Rusty]

The use of gustar de isn't very common and sounds ancient (because it is). It can be found in literary works.

What your Peruvian friend said is purely colloquial. It's the same construct above, but without the preposition.

If you say 'me likey' in English, everyone understands it, but it isn't grammatically correct by any means. I would choose to tolerate, but not adopt, the occasional colloquialisms you hear.

Gustar can be fully conjugated, Lou Ann. It isn't always used in the 3rd person.
Me gustas. = I like you.
Te gusto. = You like me.
Les gustamos. = They like us.

[laepelba]

Originally Posted by Perikles

And I didn't have any trouble with it until 15 minutes ago

Sorry. I hope we can still be friends.

Originally Posted by Rusty

The use of gustar de isn't very common and sounds ancient (because it is). It can be found in literary works.

What your Peruvian friend said is purely colloquial. It's the same construct above, but without the preposition.

If you say 'me likey' in English, everyone understands it, but it isn't grammatically correct by any means. I would choose to tolerate, but not adopt, the occasional colloquialisms you hear.

Gustar can be fully conjugated, Lou Ann. It isn't always used in the 3rd person.
Me gustas. = I like you.
Te gusto. = You like me.
Les gustamos. = They like us.

Right. I remember reading threads about the various conjugations of gustar and what they mean. But I haven't actually heard or read a use of it outside of the third person until now.......

Thanks for pointing to the colloquial usage. I do think that I shall avoid using it.

[Rusty]

When you learn Portuguese, you'll use gostar de all the time.

[laepelba]

I'm going to hold off on the Portuguese...... Although my friends in Uruguay live on the border of Uruguay & Brazil, and their kids are taught Spanish, English, & Portuguese all through their years of school. Instead of speaking "Spanglish", they speak "Portuñol".