Gustar Explained: Why “I Like” Doesn’t Work in Spanish
Why POR and PARA are so confusing
If you try to translate “I like” directly into Spanish, you will get confused.
English uses a subject-first structure:
“I like coffee.”
Spanish works differently.
That’s why “I like” does NOT translate to “yo gusto”.
💡 Important note for English speakers:
Spanish is not about translating words.
It’s about understanding how meaning is structured.
❌ The most common mistake with “gustar”
Many English speakers try to say:
❌ Yo gusto el café.
This sounds logical in English,
but it is incorrect in Spanish.
🧠 How “gustar” really works
🔵 In English, the person is the subject.
🟢 In Spanish, the thing is the subject.
💡 Important Note for English speakers:
In Spanish, you don’t say what you like.
You say what is pleasing to you.
🔵 English:
I → like → coffee
🟢 Spanish:
Coffee → is pleasing → to me
GUSTAR: Think in meaning, not translation
🧩 Why “me”, “te”, “le” appear with gustar
The word “me” does not mean “I”, It means: “to me”
- Me gusta el café. → Coffee is pleasing to me.
- Te gusta el café. → Coffee is pleasing to you.
- Le gusta el café. → Coffee is pleasing to him / her.
💡 Important note for English speakers:
These are not subject pronouns.
They show who experiences the feeling.
SINGULAR VS PLURAL
Gustar changes based on the thing you like, not the person.
- Me gusta el café. (singular thing)
- Me gustan las películas. (plural thing)
ONE thing → singular verb
MORE than one thing → plural verb
✔ Me gusta el café.
✔ Me gusta la música.
✔ Me gustan las películas.
✔ Me gustan los libros.
ONE thing → singular verb
MORE than one thing → plural verb
- ✔ Me gusta el café.
- ✔ Me gusta la música.
- ✔ Me gusta el café.
- ✔ Me gusta la música.
- ✔ Me gustan las películas.
- ✔ Me gustan los libros.
💡 Gustar agrees with the thing, not with the person.
⚡ Quick mental shortcut
💡 Don’t think: “I like…”
💡 Think: “This is pleasing to me.”
Spanish does not copy English logic. That’s why verbs like:
✔ SER vs ESTAR
✔ POR vs PARA
✔ SABER vs CONOCER
✔ and GUSTAR
feel confusing at first.
🚀 Ready to stop translating and start thinking in Spanish?
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