Gustar Construction: Me gusta/gustan

Imagine you are holding a delicious taco. In English, you say "I like this taco." You are the subject. The taco is the object. In Spanish, the taco is the subject. It is the thing performing the action. The taco is "pleasing" you. Because the taco is the subject, the verb gustar has to match the taco, not you. If you have one taco, you use gusta. If you have three tacos, you use gustan. You are just the person sitting there receiving the pleasure of the taco. This is why we use special pronouns like me, te, and le. These tell us who is being pleased. It is a bit like saying "The taco appeals to me." It feels a bit formal in English, but in Spanish, it is just how we roll. Even native speakers mess this up when they are tired, so do not sweat it too much!

1. 1Building a gustar sentence is like putting together a three-piece puzzle. Follow these steps:
2. 2Choose your Indirect Object Pronoun. This tells us who likes the thing. Use me (me), te (you), le (him/her/you formal), nos (us), os (you all), or les (them/you all).
3. 3Pick the verb form. Most of the time, you only need two: gusta (for one thing or an action) or gustan (for multiple things).
4. 4Add the thing you like. Crucial tip: Always include the article like el, la, los, or las before the noun.
5. 5Example: Me (Step 1) + gusta (Step 2) + el chocolate (Step 3).
6. 6If you want to add emphasis, you can put A mí at the start: A mí me gusta el chocolate. It is like saying "As for me, I like chocolate."

You will use gustar constantly. Use it when you are at a restaurant and the waiter asks what you want. Use it when you are meeting a new friend and talking about hobbies like correr (running) or leer (reading). It is perfect for job interviews when you want to say Me gusta trabajar en equipo (I like working in a team). It is also the go-to for talking about music, movies, and weather. Basically, if you have an opinion about something being good or enjoyable, gustar is your best friend. It is the ultimate conversation starter. Just remember: if you are talking about an activity (a verb), always use the singular gusta. Even if you like five different activities, it stays Me gusta.

Do not use gustar when you mean "to like" in a romantic, deep "I love you" kind of way. For that, Spanish uses querer or amar. If you tell a new Spanish friend Me gustas, you are basically saying you have a crush on them. That might be awkward if you just wanted to say they are a cool person! Also, do not use it to describe physical resemblance. In English, we say "He looks like his dad." In Spanish, that is parecerse, not gustar. Finally, do not use it without those little pronouns (me, te, le). Without them, the sentence falls apart like a wet taco.

The biggest mistake is saying Yo gusto. It sounds like you are saying "I am pleasing," which is just confusing. Always use me. Another classic error is forgetting the plural. If you like los perros (dogs), you must use gustan. Think of the n at the end of gustan as a little hook for plural things. Many people also forget the el or la. In English, we say "I like pizza." In Spanish, you must say "Me gusta la pizza." It feels extra, but it is mandatory. Lastly, do not try to conjugate gustar like a normal verb (gusto, gustas, gusta). Stick to the gusta/gustan duo for 99% of your A1 conversations.

Gustar has a whole family of cousins that work exactly the same way. Encantar is like gustar on steroids. It means "to love" an object or activity. Me encanta la pizza means you really, really like it. Then there is interesar (to interest) and importar (to be important/to matter). If you learn the me gusta pattern, you have actually learned about ten different verbs at once! It is a "buy one, get ten free" deal in the grammar world. They all use the same me/te/le pronouns and the same singular/plural verb logic.