GCSE Spanish · Verbs and tenses

Gustar and verbs like it

Me gusta, me encantan, le interesa: the verbs whose subject comes after them.

55 GCSE-style practice questions

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Gustar and verbs like it, explained point by point

Everything the GCSE specification expects you to be able to do, and how to actually do it - the same lesson a signed-in student studies from.

  1. Understand how gustar works

    Gustar means to please, so the thing you like is the subject: Me gusta el fútbol is literally football pleases me. The verb agrees with the thing liked, and a pronoun in front says who is pleased.

  2. Choose gusta or gustan

    Use gusta with one thing or with an infinitive, and gustan with a plural noun: Me gusta leer, Me gusta la música, Me gustan los perros. Two infinitives still take gusta: Me gusta nadar y correr.

  3. Use me, te, le and les for the person

    Me gusta is I like, te gusta you like, le gusta he, she or usted likes, and les gusta they like. The verb does not change with the person, only the pronoun does: Les gusta el cine.

  4. Name the person with a

    To say who likes something, put a and the name or noun first, and keep the pronoun too: A mi hermano le gusta el baloncesto, A mis padres les gustan las películas. The le or les stays even though the name is there.

  5. Use the verbs that work like gustar

    Encantar (to love a thing), interesar, importar and doler follow the same pattern: Me encantan los conciertos, Me interesa la historia, Me duele la cabeza. With doler, use the article for the part of the body, not mi.

  6. Say how much you like something

    Add mucho for a lot and bastante for quite: Me gusta mucho, Me gusta bastante. For not at all, use nada: No me gusta nada. Likes in general take the article: Me gusta el deporte, No me gustan los lunes.

  7. Use gustar in other tenses

    Me gustó means I liked it, for one finished thing, and me gustaba means I used to like it: Me gustó mucho la película, De pequeño me gustaba el parque. Me gustaría means I would like, followed by an infinitive: Me gustaría ir a México.

  8. Use nos and os, and a mí for emphasisHigher only

    Nos gusta means we like and os gusta means you all like: Nos encanta la playa, ¿Os interesa el arte? To stress or contrast the person, add a mí, a ti or a nosotros in front: A mí me gusta, pero a ti no.

Gustar and verbs like it key terms

The words the specification and the mark schemes use, each defined the way an examiner wants it.

gustar
To please. Me gusta means it pleases me, which English says as I like it.
encantar
To delight, so to love a thing or an activity: Me encanta bailar means I love dancing. For loving a person, Spanish uses querer.
interesar
To interest: Me interesan las noticias means the news interests me, with a plural verb because noticias is plural.
doler
To hurt, an o to ue verb: Me duele la cabeza means my head hurts, and Me duelen los pies means my feet hurt.
importar
To matter: No me importa means I do not mind, or it does not matter to me.
me gustaría
I would like, followed by an infinitive: Me gustaría viajar means I would like to travel.
Indirect object pronoun
The word for to me, to you, to him or to her: me, te, le, les, with nos and os at Higher. With gustar, it names the person who likes.
a mí and a tiHigher only
Added before the pronoun for emphasis or contrast: A mí me gusta el teatro, pero a ti no.

Common mistakes in Gustar and verbs like it

The slips that cost marks year after year, and what to do instead.

  • Treating gustar like the English verb to like, as in Yo gusto el fútbol.

    With gustar, the thing you like is the subject: Me gusta el fútbol. Yo gusto would mean that you are pleasing to someone.

  • Using gusta with a plural noun, as in Me gusta los videojuegos.

    The verb agrees with what you like: Me gustan los videojuegos. An infinitive counts as singular, even two of them: Me gusta cantar y bailar.

  • Leaving out le after naming the person, as in A mi madre gusta el té.

    Keep the pronoun even when you name the person: A mi madre le gusta el té. The a at the start is needed too.

  • Leaving out the article, as in Me encanta música.

    Likes and dislikes about things in general take the article: Me encanta la música, No me gustan los deberes.

  • Writing No me gusta mucho when you mean not at all.

    No me gusta mucho means I do not like it much. For not at all, use nada: No me gusta nada.

Practice

Try a Gustar and verbs like it question

A GCSE-style original question from this topic. Have a go before you open the working - deciding on an answer first is what makes the working stick.

Which form completes the question? ¿Te ___ si abro la ventana? (Do you mind if I open the window?)

  1. importa
  2. importas
  3. importan
  4. importo
Show the answer and the working

Answer: importa

Importar works like gustar: what matters is the idea 'if I open the window', which counts as singular, so ¿Te importa...? means Do you mind...?

  1. Importar means to matter, used like gustar.
  2. Te is the person asked: you.
  3. What matters is opening the window, a single idea, so importa.
  4. ¿Te importa si abro la ventana?: Do you mind if I open the window?

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