I like to go to the movie on the weekends.
One of the most used verbs in the Spanish language, gustar, translates to “to like” in English. The verb gustar has a tricky and strict grammar rule attached to it that can sometimes be confusing to beginners. Keep this guide handy to learn its verb conjugations and grammar rules because it will quickly become an essential part of your Spanish vocabulary.
Conjugations for Gustar
The grammar rules for gustar may be complicated but luckily, its verb conjugations are not! The verb gustar is a completely regular -ar verb and follows all of the standard rules in all tenses.
Present
|
Yo |
gusto |
Nosotros/as |
gustamos |
|
Tú |
gustas |
Vosotros/as |
gustáis |
|
Él/Ella/Ud. |
gusta |
Ellos/Ellas/Uds. |
gustan |
Example Sentence:
- Me gusta ir al cine los fines de semana. → I like to go to the movie on the weekends.
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Imperfect
|
Yo |
gustaba |
Nosotros/as |
gustabamos |
|
Tú |
gustabas |
Vosotros/as |
gustabais |
|
Él/Ella/Ud. |
gustaba |
Ellos/Ellas/Uds. |
gustaban |
Example Sentence:
- A mis papás siempre les gustaba ir a bailar cuando eran jóvenes. → My parents always liked going dancing when they were younger.
Preterite
|
Yo |
gusté |
Nosotros/as |
gustamos |
|
Tú |
gustaste |
Vosotros/as |
gustasteis |
|
Él/Ella/Ud. |
gustó |
Ellos/Ellas/Uds. |
gustaron |
Example Sentence:
- ¿Te gustaron las galletas que te di? → Did you like the cookies that I gave you?
Future
|
Yo |
gustaré |
Nosotros/as |
gustaremos |
|
Tú |
gustarás |
Vosotros/as |
gustaréis |
|
Él/Ella/Ud. |
gustó |
Ellos/Ellas/Uds. |
gustarán |
Example Sentence:
- Siempre nos gustarán los días largos de verano. → We will always like the long days of summer.
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Conditional
|
Yo |
gustaría |
Nosotros/as |
gustaríamos |
|
Tú |
gustarías |
Vosotros/as |
gustaríais |
|
Él/Ella/Ud. |
gustaría |
Ellos/Ellas/Uds. |
gustarán |
Example Sentence:
- ¿A ti te gustaría que te mandaran al extranjero para trabajar? → Would like it if they sent you abroad for work?
The Grammar Rules of the Verb Gustar
In a basic Spanish course you will spend hours reviewing and practicing the grammar structure for the verb gustar. Luckily, once you’ve learned the rules, the same grammar structure can be used with hundreds of other verbs!
Rather than following the normal sentence structure of “Indirect Object (person) + verb + the Direct Object (object liked),” the verb gustar follows a special formula which looks like this:
Indirect Object Pronoun (that represents the person who is doing the liking) + verb + Direct Object (the object that is liked)
The indirect object pronouns in Spanish are:
me → me
te → you
le → him/her/it
nos → us
os → you
les → them
Sometimes it’s easier to think of gustar as meaning “to be pleasing” rather than “to like.” In this way, the verb gustar is conjugated for the object in the sentence.
Me gusta el pastel.→ The dessert is pleasing to me.
* In this sentence, the verb gustar is translated to agree with “el pastel” not the person.
Nos gustan los animales. → The animals are pleasing to us.
* In this sentence the verb gustar is translated to agree with “los animales” not the subject.
Les gusta la película. → The movie is pleasing to them.
* In this sentence the verb gustar is translated to agree with “la pelicula” not the subject.
With its complicated grammar rules, gustar might take a little extra practice to completely master. But, before you know it, you’ll be using it like a pro!