juntosMe gusta or me gustan? Gustar agrees with the tacos, not with you
The verb that works backwards, and the plural that gives learners away.
Gustar doesn't mean "to like". It means "to be pleasing to", and the thing that pleases is the subject of the sentence. Me gustan los tacos is literally "the tacos are pleasing to me": tacos plural, verb plural. Me gusta el café: coffee singular, verb singular. You (me) are just the person it happens to.
Because the person isn't the subject, the verb almost only ever appears in two forms: gusta for one thing (or an activity: me gusta bailar) and gustan for several. Change the person and only the little pronoun moves: te gustan, le gustan, nos gustan. To make clear who le is, add a: a Ana le gustan los tacos.
A whole family of verbs works the same way, and learning them together saves a lot of slips: encantar (to love), doler (to hurt: me duelen los pies), faltar (to be missing), interesar, molestar, importar. Same shape every time: pronoun, verb agreeing with the thing, the thing.
The reel. This slip, as it happens, in thirty seconds. The tutor gave the original sentence 71/100, with the fix.
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Also worth knowing
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Me encanta la comida de aquí. | I love the food here. |
| Me duelen los pies. | My feet hurt. |
| ¿Te gustan los mariscos? | Do you like seafood? |
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