Get To Know Gustar: Learn the Meaning and Conjugation of This Spanish Verb

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If you’re learning Spanish, the verb gustar (to like) may cause confusion because it doesn’t function like other verbs—and it has some specific applications. But no te preocupes (don’t worry), when it comes to learning a language, questions are a good thing. 

This guide to the verb gustar makes it clear what the verb means, how to conjugate it, and when to use it. We’ve also added a complete list of other verbs that work like gustar. Once you get the hang of it, gustar and other similar verbs are actually easier than some other verbs.

What does gustar mean, and why is it special?

If you look up gustar in the dictionary, the definition probably will be “to like.” While, technically, this is true, there are nuances to its meaning and uses. Gustar means “to like” but mostly when talking about objects or activities. 

A more accurate translation would be “to be pleasing to.” This definition also helps you remember how to use the verb properly. Applying this definition in the following sentence example will get you thinking about proper conjugation:

• Me gusta la salsa roja. = Red salsa is pleasing to me.

You can translate this example as “I like red salsa,” but thinking of it as “to be pleasing to” helps you remember to conjugate the verb according to the thing that is pleasing and not the person doing the liking. This makes gustar distinct from most other verbs, but there is a whole set of verbs in Spanish that function this way.

Be careful about using gustar with people

Avoid using this verb to talk about people in common social situations because it implies that you feel physically attracted to someone.

When you learn Spanish, you’ll need some appropriate vocabulary to talk about liking friends, colleagues, and comrades in platonic ways. Here are a couple of words you could use instead of gustar: 

• caerse bien = to get along with
• agradar = to find pleasant

How to use indirect object pronouns with gustar

When it comes to gustar, these Spanish indirect object pronouns refer to the person who likes the object or activity in the sentence. They are always placed before gustar.

Take a look at all the Spanish indirect object pronouns and when they are used with gustar. Some of these pronouns could have different meanings depending on whether you translate a sentence as “I like red salsa” or “Red salsa is pleasing to me.” Either way, the basic meaning is similar.

Conjugating gustar in the third person

Contrary to popular belief, gustar is not a Spanish irregular verb. While formulating a sentence with gustar is distinct from other verbs, the verb itself is generally conjugated like a regular -AR verb. And there’s more good news: There are only two conjugations to worry about for each tense when it comes to gustar—third person singular and third person plural.

Take this example that talks about a person liking something singular and something plural:

• Le gusta el fútbol. = Soccer is pleasing to him/her.
• Le gustan los deportes. = Sports are pleasing to him/her.

Notice that the verb conjugation changes according to whether the thing/things being liked is singular or plural, but the indirect object pronoun le remains the same because we are talking about a singular person. There’s some ambiguity in this example since le can mean “him” or “her.” 

Conjugating gustar in different tenses

There are eighteen Spanish verb tenses and three moods (indicative, subjunctive, and imperative). Lucky for you, gustar is not used in many of these tenses or moods. It would be highly unlikely to say, “I will like ice cream in the future” or “Like ice cream now!” 

In general, you’ll need to know how to conjugate gustar in the present tense, preterite tense, and imperfect tense. For the most part, other tenses are only used in advanced grammar situations.

How to conjugate gustar in the preterite tense

Aside from the present tense, the main verb tense used with gustar is the preterite tense in Spanish. This verb tense is used to talk about definitive actions in the past.

For example: 

• Les gustó la película Roma. = The movie Roma was pleasing to them.
• Nos gustaron los postres. = The desserts were pleasing to us.

How to conjugate gustar in the imperfect tense

Sometimes the imperfect, a tense used to talk about long-standing or habitual actions in the past, is also employed with gustar.

• Les gustaban las largas comidas del domingo. = The long Sunday midday meals were pleasing to them.

A formula for using gustar in sentences

This simple formula helps you create present tense sentences with gustar easily.

Start each sentence with the person doing the liking, then add the correct form of gustar. Finally, add the name of what’s being liked. You can use this formula for any sentence with gustar or similar verbs in the present tense.

Here are a couple of examples:

• Me gusta el pastel. = Cake is pleasing to me. 
• Nos gustan las plantas. = Plants are pleasing to us.

Conjugating gustar in the negative or interrogative

Gustar is negated like any other Spanish verb. Just add no before the word to negate it.

• No te gusta la carne. = Meat is not pleasing to you.

To ask a question with gustar, simply inflect your voice and add question marks.

• ¿Te gustan los frijoles? = Do you like beans?

Using gustar with infinitives

When talking about activities, it is possible to combine gustar with an infinitive in Spanish. In this case, the verb will always be conjugated in the third person singular.

• Os gusta correr todos los días. = Running every day is pleasing to you.

This sentence example also has the sense of “You like running every day.”

Use gustar with prepositional pronouns for emphasis or clarity only

Sometimes there can be ambiguity in a sentence with the pronouns le or les because it’s unclear exactly who these indirect object pronouns refer to. But Spanish has a solution for this. Add the preposition a (to) and a prepositional pronoun when you want to clarify who you are talking about or simply want to emphasize that person. 

The prepositional pronouns in Spanish are as follows:

*used in most of Spain 

For example: 

• Le gusta el fútbol a él. = Soccer is pleasing to him.
• Le gustan los deportes a ella. = Sports are pleasing to her.

These prepositional pronouns can also be used for emphasis:

• A ti te gusta la bachata, pero a mí me gusta el merengue. = Bachata is pleasing to you, but merengue is pleasing to me.

Other verbs like gustar

Quite a few other verbs function exactly like gustar in terms of sentence structure and conjugation, for instance:

• Me interesan las películas italianas del siglo XX. = I am interested in 20th century Italian film.

This list below will help you get familiar with other verbs that work just like gustar. The meanings are listed according to when they are used like gustar.

Using verbs like gustar in a traditional way

It is possible to use these verbs traditionally. Compare this first example when preocupar (to worry) is used like gustar to the second example when it is used with the normal subject + verb + object (SVO) formula:

• Me preocupa el cambio climático. = I am worried about climate change. (used like gustar)
• Carlos se preocupa por su madre. = Carlos worries about his mother. (traditional use)

The first example has the sense of “climate change worries me,” while the second example has a clear subject (Carlos) and object (his mother) like most sentences in Spanish.

Key takeaways about the verb gustar

Gustar is a fairly unique verb in Spanish, and learning its nuances will help you talk about all the things you like to do and places you like to visit. 

• Gustar means “to like” or “to be pleased by.”
• Gustar is conjugated according to the thing or things being liked, not the person liking them.
• Use indirect object pronouns to show who is doing the liking.
• Don’t use gustar to talk about people in everyday social situations.