Gustar is usually translated into "to like," but when you compare a Spanish sentence using "gustar" to its English equivalent, you'll notice a few differences.Example:

English: I like the food.
Spanish: Me gusta la comida.


Even though "I" is the subject of the English sentence, it is not the subject of the Spanish sentence. This much is obvious because of the way "gustar" is conjugated. "Gusta" is the third person singular form of gustar, so "gusta" refers to a single thing or person—in this case, it refers to "la comida."

If "gustar" referred to the first person singular "I," it would be conjugated as "gusto."


Instead of "I like the food," a more direct translation of "Me gusta la comida" would be "The food is pleasing to me.” This version of the sentence places "the food" in the position of subject, as it is in the Spanish version of the sentence.;
, An indirect object describes to whom or to what the action is done. In other words, the indirect object in "gustar" sentences refers to the person doing the liking.


In the previous sample sentence, "Me gusta la comida," the indirect object is "me." This is the term used for the first person singular indirect object and roughly translates into "to me."
As such, saying "me gusta" would be the same as saying "it is pleasing to me" or "I like it."

, In every sentence using "gustar," you will need to change the subject of the English translation to the indirect object pronoun in the Spanish version.


No matter which verb tense you use in the indicative form, the indirect object pronouns will remain the same. Those pronouns are:First person singular: Me (to me)
Second person singular: Te (to you)
Third person singular: Le (to he/she/it)
First person plural: Nos (to us)
Second person plural: Os (to you all)
Third person plural: Les (to them)



, Since gustar is almost always used to describe love for objects instead of people, you will almost always use the singular or plural third person conjugation.


For the present indicative:

Third person singular: gusta
Third person plural: gustan


Example:

"You like the book" becomes "Te gusta el libro."
"You like the books" becomes "Te gustan los libros."


The conjugation of "gustar" will always depend on the subject of the Spanish sentence, but this subject is the object of the English version of the sentence.
 Now that you know which parts of the English sentence match up to which parts of the Spanish sentence, you should be able to correctly string the parts of the Spanish sentence together.


Example: Translate "We like the movie" into Spanish using the "gustar" verb.

"We" is the subject in the English sentence, so it will become the indirect object of the Spanish sentence. The first person plural indirect object pronoun is "nos."
The object in the English sentence, "the movie," becomes the subject of the Spanish sentence, "la película."
Since the subject of the Spanish sentence (la película) is singular, "gustar" needs to be conjugated into its third person singular form, "gusta."


When you piece the entire thing together, the Spanish translation would be: Nos gusta la película.
 You can technically use "gustar" when discussing like for another person or people, but doing so implies physical attraction instead of platonic/friendly affection.The only time you would use either first person or either second person conjugation of "gustar" would be if you are referring to physical attraction toward yourself (first person) or toward the person you are speaking to (second person).

Example: "Me gustas" in Spanish means "You are pleasing to me" in English.


You may also use either the singular or plural third person form of "gustar" when describing physical attraction toward another person or group of people other than the person you are speaking with.

Example: "Me gusta ella" in Spanish means "She is pleasing to me" in English.
 Oftentimes, the reader or listener will not know who the indirect object pronoun refers to when you use the third person singular form. As a result, you may need to add a little more to the sentence for the sake of clarification.This is usually done by adding "To _____" before the indirect object pronoun. In essence, you are referring to the same indirect object twice in the same sentence. This might seem strange in English, but it's normal in Spanish.

Note that the English "to" translates to "a" in Spanish.


Example: If you wrote, "Le gusta la cocina," the reader would have no way of knowing who the kitchen (la cocina) is pleasing to (le gusta). "Le" can refer to too many possibilities.

If Pablo likes the kitchen, you would need to precede the sentence with, "A Pablo."
As such, the correct sentence would be: "A Pablo le gusta la cocina."



, Even when the indirect object pronoun can only refer to one specific person, you may still see the "A ___" construction.


In these instances, you are emphasizing the way the indirect object feels.
For instance, someone saying "A mí me gusta la silla" would be emphasizing the fact that he or she really likes chair (la silla). Usually, this is done to draw attention to or contrast against other opinions.
 When you want to talk about something that is disliked, you will need to add “no” before the verb “gustar” just as you would with any other verb. This “no” must also come before the indirect object pronoun.


Do not place the “no” in between the indirect object pronoun and the verb.
Example:

English: I dislike the book
Spanish: No me gusta el libro.
 As it applies to "gustar," the present indicative should be used to talk about something that is presently liked.


Example: "We like you all," Nos gustáis.

yo: gusto
tú: gustas
él/ella/usted: gusta
nosotros/-as: gustamos
vosotros/-as: gustáis
ellos/ellas/ustedes: gustan

, The preterite indicative is a past tense verb form. You should conjugate "gustar" in the preterite indicative to describe something that was definitely liked in the past but no longer liked in the present.


Example: "Raquel liked baseball when she was young," A Raquel le gusta el béisbol cuando era joven.

yo: gusté
tú: gustaste
él/ella/usted: gustó
nosotros/-as: gustamos
vosotros/-as: gustasteis
ellos/ellas/ustedes: gustasteis

, The imperfect indicative is another past tense verb form, but it varies slightly from the preterite tense. Use the imperfect indicative of "gustar" when you want to describe something that was concretely liked in the past and may still be liked in the present.


Example: "You have liked us," Te gustábamos.

yo: gustaba
tú: gustabas
él/ella/usted: gustaba
nosotros/-as: gustábamos
vosotros/-as: gustabais
ellos/ellas/ustedes: gustaban

, The conditional indicative tense describes something that is true only if another condition is also true. As it applies to "gustar," this verb tense suggests that something is definitely liked as long as another defined condition is also definitely true.


Example: "You all would like the book if you read it," Os gustaría el libro si lo lee.

yo: gustaría
tú: gustarías
él/ella/usted: gustaría
nosotros/-as: gustaríamos
vosotros/-as: gustaríais
ellos/ellas/ustedes: gustarían

, When talking about definite future events and feelings, you would use the future indicative tense. Conjugate "gustar" in the future indicative to describe a like that will definitely exist in the future without needing any special condition.


Example: "They will like the news," Les gustará la noticia.

yo: gustaré
tú: gustarás
él/ella/usted: gustará
nosotros/-as: gustaremos
vosotros/-as: gustaréis
ellos/ellas/ustedes: gustarán
Compare "gustar" to its English equivalent.
Understand how indirect objects work.
Change the English subject to a Spanish indirect object.
Choose the singular or plural form of "gustar.",
String everything together.
Use caution when applying "gustar" to people.
Clarify the indirect object when necessary.
Emphasize the indirect object when appropriate.
Place the negative “no” before the indirect object pronoun.
Conjugate the present indicative.The present indicative is the primary conjugation and the one you'll usually need to learn first.
Use the preterit indicative.
Know the imperfect indicative.
Learn the conditional indicative.
Use the future indicative.
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