UNIT TWELVE
gustar
The verb gustar is used to translate the English verb ‘to like’ and so is very common in
Spanish. The important thing to bear in mind right from the outset, however, is that it
does not actually mean ‘to like’, but ‘to be pleasing’. In order to say ‘I like coffee’, what
you actually have to say is ‘coffee is pleasing to me’. Thus the verb will be in the third
person singular, and the ‘to me’ will be translated by the indirect object pronoun me (see
Unit 11):
Me gusta el café.
I like coffee.
(lit. ‘Coffee is pleasing to me.’)Obviously if the things liked are plural, then a third person plural verb must be used, as
the plural noun is the subject of the verb:
Me gustan las películas.
I like films.
(lit. ‘Films are pleasing to me.’)The construction can be used with all indirect object pronouns as follows:
¿Te gusta mi coche?
Do you like my car?
(Is my car pleasing to you?)Le gusta jugar al tennis.
He likes to play tennis/playing tennis.
(To play tennis is pleasing to him.)No nos gustan las galletas.
We don’t like the biscuits.
(The biscuits are not pleasing to us.)¿Os gusta la idea?
Do you like the idea?
(Is the idea pleasing to you?)