The rule, in plain English
With gustar, the thing liked is the grammatical subject and the person experiencing the feeling is an indirect object. Choose me, te, le, nos, os, or les for the experiencer, then make gustar agree with the thing: gusta with one thing, an infinitive, or a clause; gustan with plural things. A mí, a ti, or a named person can clarify or emphasise the experiencer, but it does not replace the short pronoun: A Marta le gusta bailar.
Why it's hard for English speakers
English begins with the person—I like the books—but Spanish is structured more like The books are pleasing to me: me gustan los libros. This is why the experiencer pronoun does not control gusta or gustan. The same pattern appears with encantar, interesar, doler, faltar, importar, and molestar.
Complete experiencer mapping
| Person | Optional clarification/emphasis | Required pronoun | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yo | a mí | me | A mí me gusta. |
| Tú | a ti | te | A ti te gusta. |
| Él/Ella | a él / a ella | le | A ella le gusta. |
| Usted | a usted | le | A usted le gusta. |
| Nosotros/as | a nosotros/as | nos | A nosotros nos gusta. |
| Vosotros/as | a vosotros/as | os | A vosotros os gusta. |
| Ellos/Ellas | a ellos / a ellas | les | A ellos les gusta. |
| Ustedes | a ustedes | les | A ustedes les gusta. |
Make the verb agree with the thing liked
| Thing liked | Verb | Example |
|---|---|---|
| One singular noun | gusta | Me gusta el libro. |
| Plural nouns | gustan | Me gustan los libros. |
| An infinitive/activity | gusta | Me gusta leer. |
| A whole que-clause | gusta | Me gusta que vengas. |
Useful verbs with the same pattern
| Verb | Meaning | Singular / plural example |
|---|---|---|
| encantar | to love | Me encanta la canción / Me encantan las canciones. |
| interesar | to interest | Le interesa el arte / Le interesan los museos. |
| doler | to hurt | Me duele la cabeza / Me duelen los pies. |
| faltar | to be missing / needed | Nos falta una silla / Nos faltan dos sillas. |
| importar | to matter | ¿Te importa el precio? / ¿Te importan los precios? |
Example sentence bank
Shuffling examples…
Common mistakes
- Yo gusto los libros.Me gustan los libros.The books are the plural subject; me identifies the person who likes them.
- Me gusta los libros.Me gustan los libros.Make gustar agree with the plural thing, not with the experiencer.
- A Marta gusta bailar.A Marta le gusta bailar.The clarifying a-phrase does not replace the required indirect-object pronoun le.
- Nos gustan viajar.Nos gusta viajar.An infinitive activity is treated as one singular idea.
Practice
Me ___ las películas.
I like coffee = Me ___ el café.
A ella le ___ los perros.
My head hurts = Me ___ la cabeza.
Me ___ los museos.
She likes coffee = A ella ___ gusta el café.
Nos ___ bailar.
My feet hurt = Me ___ los pies.