Spanish 3.1. Verbs Like “Gustar”

Some expressions use a different sentence structure in Spanish compared to that used in English to express the same meaning. The most common example is the use of verbs like “gustar” (to please) in Spanish. Let us examine this sentence in Spanish:

Me gusta el auto.

This is often translated as: “I like the car.”

A more accurate and literal translation would be:

“The car is pleasing to me.”

Note that the verb conjugation is in the third-person singular form because “el auto” is the subject that does the act of pleasing, and “me” is the object. Thus, the conjugation of the verb “gustar” must agree with the subject “el auto.”

Let us take another example. If you want to say that someone is interested in ancient cultures, the best way to say that is:

Le interesan las culturas antiguas.

Here, we use the verb “interesar” (to interest), and the sentence is translated as:

“Ancient cultures interest him (or her).”

Note that the verb is conjugated as “interesan” because “las culturas antiguas” is the subject, and “le” is the object. Thus, the conjugation of the verb “interesar” must agree with the subject “las culturas antiguas.”

As you can see, we use the indirect object “le” to express the meaning “to him” or “to her,” that is, that the ancient cultures interest him or her. However, remember that “le” can also mean “to him,” “to her,” or even “to you” (formal). To remove ambiguity, one might optionally say:

“A María le interesan las culturas antiguas,” or “A ella le interesan las culturas antiguas.”

This is translated as:

“Ancient cultures interest María,” or “Ancient cultures interest her.”

More Examples using the Verb “Gustar”

Below are more examples of expressions with the verb “gustar.”

English Example	Prep. Object Pronoun	Indirect Object Pronoun	Spanish Equivalent
I like reading.	mí	me	A mí me gusta leer.
You like reading. (singular informal)	ti	te	A ti te gusta leer.
He likes reading.	él	le	A él le gusta leer.
She likes reading.	ella	le	A ella le gusta leer.
You like reading. (singular formal)	usted	le	A usted le gusta leer.
We like reading.	nosotros/-as	nos	A nosotros nos gusta leer.
You like reading. (plural informal)	vosotros/-as	os	A vosotros os gusta leer.
They like reading.	ellos/ellas	les	A ellos les gusta leer.
You like reading. (plural formal)	ustedes	les	A ustedes les gusta leer.

Note again how the verb “gustar” does not change conjugation in the examples above because “leer” (to read) is singular; thus, it takes the second-person conjugation “gusta.”

In cases where ambiguity is not an issue, the introductory “a + prepositional object pronoun” can be omitted, e.g., “A mí me gusta leer” is just an emphasis of “Me gusta leer,” and both mean “I like reading.”

The verb “gustar” is used to express the liking of things rather than of persons. If said about a person, it usually has a physical or sexual meaning to the act of liking, e.g., “Me gustan las mujeres altas” (I like tall women). If you want to express the liking of a person for his traits, use the verb “caer bien” (to like, to suit, or to get along), e.g., “Me cae bien Julio. Él es una buena persona” (I like Julio. He is a good person).

Other Verbs Similar to “Gustar”

Here is a list of verbs like “gustar” that are common in Spanish:

Verb	Meaning	Example
aburrir	to bore	Me aburren los videojuegos.	Video games are boring to me.
agradar	to please	Nos agrada el lugar.	We like the place.
alegrar	to gladden	¿Te alegra estudiar?	Do you like studying?
bastar	to be enough	A él eso le basta.	That’s enough for him.
caer bien	to like or to get along	Me cae bien tu amigo.	I like your friend.
caer mal	to not like or to not get along	Nos caen mal estos políticos.	We don’t like these politicians.
convenir	to suit or to be convenient	Llámame si te conviene.	Call me if it is convenient for you.
costar	to cost or to be difficult	Me cuesta aprender inglés.	I find it difficult to learn English.
interesar	to interest	No me interesa el tema.	I am not interested in the topic.
dar asco	to be disgusted	Me da asco tu comportamiento.	Your behavior disgusts me.
disgustar	to disgust	Me disgustan esos problemas.	Those problems disgust me.
doler	to be painful	A ella le duele la espalda.	She has back pain.
encantar	to love something	Me encanta este restaurante.	I love this restaurant.
faltar	to be lacking	Me falta un libro más.	I am missing one more book.
fascinar	to fascinate	A ella le fascina el hockey.	Hockey fascinates her.
hacer falta	to be missing	¿Te hace falta algo?	Do you need something?
importar	to be important	No me importa.	I don’t care.
molestar	to bother	Te llamo si no te molesta.	I’ll call you if it doesn’t bother you.
parecer	to seem	Me parece interesante.	It seems interesting to me.
resultar[1]	to find	Me resulta muy interesante el tema.	I find the topic very interesting.
tocar[2]	to be one’s turn or responsibility	Me toca traer la comida.	It’s my turn to bring food.
volver loco	to be crazy about	Me vuelven loco los gatos.	I am crazy about cats.

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[1] The verb “resultar” also means “to result in” or “to turn out to be,” e.g., “La cirugía puede resultar en efectos secundarios” (The surgery can result in side effects).

[2] The verb “tocar” has several other meanings, such as “to touch,” “to play (music),” “to ring (bell),” “to knock (on door),” and “to honk (horn).”

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