8. Verb gustar
Expressing liking in Spanish works a bit different than in English. Whereas in English there’s a subject and a direct object of liking, in Spanish there’s an indirect object before gustar to say who likes something.
EXAMPLES:
A mí me gusta esta novela. I like this novel. (Literally: To me is pleasing this novel.)
A Elsa le gustan esos zapatos. Elsa likes those shoes. (Literally: To Elsa are pleasing those shoes.)
If the doer of the action is clear, the first part can be omitted:
EXAMPLES:
A mí me gustan los perros. -> Me gustan los perros. I like dogs.
A nosotros nos gusta ir de compras. -> Nos gusta ir de compras. We like going shopping.
Nos gusta ir de compras.
Gusta and gustan are common forms when talking about general likes or dislikes. However, the verb gustar can be used in any and all singular and plural forms as well as in all verb tenses, always keeping in mind that it is defined by the “object of liking”, which is actually the subject of the Spanish sentence.
EXAMPLES:
¿Te gusta el café? Do you like coffee? not ¿Te gustas el café?
Me gustaron sus zapatos. I liked her shoes, not Me gustó sus zapatos.
A mi perro no le gustas (tú). My dog doesn’t like you, not A mi perro no le gusta (tú).
This is because the verb in Spanish is defined by the subject pronoun “you” and not by the indirect object “(to) my dog”, regardless of the word order, so in this case it conjugates as the 2nd person singular and not 3rd.
There are a number of other verbs that work the same way in Spanish, e.g. encantar, faltar, molestar, aburrir, interesar, picar, doler, bastar, quedar.