How does gustar work?
Gustar is usually translated as “to like,” but it works differently from the English verb. Literally, it means “to be pleasing to.” In Spanish you do not say “I like coffee.” You say that coffee is pleasing to you:
Me gusta el café. (Literally: Coffee is pleasing to me. Natural English: I like coffee.)
This structure has three parts:
- an indirect object pronoun (who is pleased): me, te, le, nos, os, les
- the verb gustar, in the form that agrees with the thing liked
- the thing or action liked, which is the grammatical subject
Because the thing liked is the subject, the verb agrees with it, not with the person who likes it.
Gusta or gustan?
Use gusta when what is liked is singular, or when it is an action (an infinitive). Use gustan when what is liked is plural.
| What is liked | Verb form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| singular noun | gusta | Me gusta la música. (I like music.) |
| plural noun | gustan | Me gustan las películas. (I like films.) |
| one or more infinitives | gusta | Me gusta leer. (I like reading.) Me gusta leer y escribir. (I like reading and writing.) |
Common mistakes:
- Me gusta los perros is wrong. It should be Me gustan los perros.
- Me gustan leer libros is wrong. An infinitive takes the singular form: Me gusta leer libros.
So the answer to “Which is correct, gusta or gustar?” is that both exist, but they have different jobs. Gustar is the infinitive (the dictionary form), and gusta is the conjugated form you use in a sentence like Me gusta el helado. You use the infinitive after another verb: Va a gustarte. (You are going to like it.) or Te va a gustar. (Same meaning.) The pronoun can go before the first verb or attach to the infinitive.
The six indirect object pronouns used with gustar
These are the pronouns that show who likes something.
| Pronoun | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| me | to me | Me gusta el chocolate. |
| te | to you (informal) | ¿Te gusta bailar? (Do you like dancing?) |
| le | to him, her, you (formal) | A ella le gusta el mar. (She likes the sea.) |
| nos | to us | Nos gusta viajar. (We like travelling.) |
| os | to you all (informal, Spain) | ¿Os gusta la comida? (Do you all like the food?) |
| les | to them, you all | A ellos les gustan los coches. (They like cars.) |
Adding “a + person” for emphasis or clarity
Because le and les can refer to several people, speakers often add a + person to make it clear who is meant:
- A Ana le gusta el té. (Ana likes tea.)
- A mis padres les gusta caminar. (My parents like walking.)
- A mí me gusta, pero a ti no. (I like it, but you do not.)
The extra phrase is optional for emphasis with me and te, but it is useful with le and les. Pronouns after a are mí, ti, él, ella, usted, nosotros, vosotros, ellos, ellas, ustedes. Note that “to me” is a mí with an accent, while the possessive adjective mi has none.
Do you have to conjugate gustar?
Yes, gustar changes with tense and with the thing liked. In everyday speech, however, you mainly use the third-person forms (gusta and gustan), because the thing that pleases is usually an object or an action, not a person.
Gustar in the present tense
| Subject | Form | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| yo | gusto | Rarely used. Te gusto means “you like me.” |
| tú | gustas | Me gustas. (I like you.) |
| él/ella/usted | gusta | The most common form. |
| nosotros | gustamos | Nos gustamos. (We like each other.) |
| vosotros | gustáis | Rare. |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | gustan | The second most common form. |
When a person is the subject, the meaning changes. Me gustas literally means “you are pleasing to me,” which is “I like you” in a romantic or attractive sense. Me gustan tus amigos means “I like your friends.”
Gustar in other tenses
| Tense | Singular | Plural | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preterite | gustó | gustaron | Me gustó la película. (I liked the film.) |
| Imperfect | gustaba | gustaban | De niño me gustaban los dinosaurios. (As a child I liked dinosaurs.) |
| Future | gustará | gustarán | Te gustará esta ciudad. (You will like this city.) |
| Conditional | gustaría | gustarían | Me gustaría viajar. (I would like to travel.) |
| Present subjunctive | guste | gusten | Espero que te guste. (I hope you like it.) |
| Present perfect | ha gustado | han gustado | Le ha gustado el regalo. (He or she has liked the gift.) |
Me gustaría (I would like) is a polite and very common way to express a wish: Me gustaría un café. (I would like a coffee.)
For comparison with the regular -er pattern, see our guide to the present tense of comer. Gustar follows the regular -ar pattern, and its only unusual feature is how the sentence is built.
Word order and negatives
- The pronoun comes before the verb: Me gusta, not Gusta me.
- To make a negative, put no before the pronoun: No me gusta el frío. (I do not like the cold.)
- Subjects often come after the verb in Spanish: Me gusta mucho este libro. (I like this book a lot.)
- You can use mucho (a lot), bastante (quite a lot) and poco (a little) to adjust the strength: Me gusta mucho, No me gusta nada (I do not like it at all).
Is gustar reflexive?
No, the standard use of gustar is not reflexive. It uses indirect object pronouns (me, te, le, nos, os, les), not reflexive pronouns. Do not confuse me gusta with a reflexive verb such as me lavo.
Verbs like gustar
Several common verbs use the same structure, with an indirect object pronoun and the verb agreeing with the thing that causes the feeling.
| Verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| encantar | to love, to delight | Me encanta el chocolate. (I love chocolate.) |
| interesar | to interest | Le interesan los idiomas. (Languages interest him or her.) |
| molestar | to bother | Me molesta el ruido. (The noise bothers me.) |
| fascinar | to fascinate | Nos fascinan los museos. (Museums fascinate us.) |
| importar | to matter | No me importa. (I do not mind. It does not matter to me.) |
| faltar | to lack, to be missing | Me falta tiempo. (I lack time.) |
| doler | to hurt | Me duele la cabeza. (My head hurts.) |
| parecer | to seem | Me parece bien. (It seems good to me.) |
| aburrir | to bore | Me aburre esta clase. (This class bores me.) |
| quedar | to remain, to fit | Me queda poco dinero. (I have little money left.) |
Note that doler and parecer also have stem or spelling changes (duele, parece), but the sentence structure is the same.
Common sentence patterns
- Liking a thing: Me gusta el libro.
- Liking things: Me gustan los libros.
- Liking an action: Me gusta cocinar.
- Liking a person: Me gusta Pablo (I find Pablo attractive, or I like him in a romantic sense) versus Pablo me cae bien (I like Pablo as a person, he is likeable).
- Asking: ¿Te gusta el café? ¿Qué te gusta hacer? (What do you like to do?)
- Answering: Sí, me gusta. No, no me gusta.
- Agreeing: A mí también. (Me too.) A mí tampoco. (Me neither.)
Quick practice
Choose gusta or gustan.
- A mí me ___ los gatos.
- A Marta le ___ bailar.
- ¿Te ___ esta canción?
- A nosotros nos ___ las playas.
Answers: 1. gustan, 2. gusta, 3. gusta, 4. gustan.
If you want to practise more verbs, see our list of the most common irregular Spanish verbs, where the verbs behave differently from gustar.
FAQ
What are the rules of gustar? Use an indirect object pronoun, then gusta for singular things or actions, or gustan for plural things. Add a + person if you need to clarify or emphasise.
What are the six pronouns used with gustar? Me, te, le, nos, os, les.
Can I say yo gusto? It is grammatically possible but rarely used for “I like.” It would mean something like “I am pleasing,” so use me gusta instead.