Mis Gustos

Imagine you had just met the person of your dreams, and she or he speaks only Spanish.  S/he is impressed by the fact that you are trying to learn Spanish, and in an attempt to get to know you better, s/he asks you about the things you like and the activities you like to do.  How would you respond?  Could you respond?

This page is mostly informational- there is not a lot of vocabulary here because everybody likes different things.  What I suggest is this:  Do the activities to practice and master the structure, and then apply it when speaking about the things you like and the activities you like to do.
 

Click and Repeat

Me gusta
 

No me gusta








Now you know all you need to know about how to talk about the things you like.  If you notice, there is no "I" (yo) in this.  Don't ever use it- just use what is above.
 

An explanation for the lack of "yo" for those who like and/or need explanations:  The verb "gustar" actually means "to please" not "to like".  Therefore when you say "I like" something (me gusta...), in Spanish you are actually saying something "pleases me".

Just for practice, now.  Say out loud whether or not you like the following items:
 

You will notice that all of the items above are singular.  What happens if the item becomes plural?  It's really simple- change "me gusta" to "me gustan".  (This now means "those things" please me.)  So, once again, state out loud whether or not you like the following things by using either "Me gustan" or "No me gustan".
  Now I suggest you get a dictionary, or use an on-line translator to do the following activity.
 
Think of all your favorite things, and all the things you don't like also.  (try to come up with ten for each).  Now create some sort of a project/presentation for either your firends or your classmates that you will use to tell people the things you do and do not like.

Actividades

You will use the same structure to talk about the activities you like to do.  The only difference will be that the word following the "gusta(n)" will be a verb (acting as a noun).  Again, just to get the hang of it, state whether or not you like to do the following:
 


Perhaps there are certain times when you like to do these activities.  Or perhaps you do them with specific people, or even at special places.  The following vocabulary will help you communicate these ideas as well.

First we'll look at ¿Cuándo?- When do you do these activities?

Part 1:  Days, months, etc.

Note:  with days of the week, you never say "on" in Spanish.  Instead you just say "el" or "los" before the day.  So "I go to the movies on Fridays." is "Voy al cine los viernes."
(All days are "el" or "los") 

días: lunes, martes, miércoles, jueves, viernes, sábado, domingo

meses: enero, febrero, marzo, abril, mayo, junio, julio, agosto, septiembre, octubre, noviembre, diciembre

estaciones (These use "en"): el invierno, la primavera, el verano, el otoño

partes del día (Note the use of "por"): por la mañana, por la tarde, por la noche

otro: los fines de semana (el fin de semana), esta noche

modelo:  Me gusta salir con mis amigos los sábados por la tarde.

Part 2: Eventos


el desayuno
el almuerzo
la cena
las clases*
*(Not "escuela"!.  "Escuela is the building.)
el entrenamiento
la práctica
el trabajo

modelo:   Me gusta practicar deportes después de las clases.

Part 3:  El tiempo


hace sol
hace calor
hace frío
hace fresco
hace viento
llueve
nieva
hay una tempestad

(For more weather expressions, and a review click here.)

modelo:  Me gusta esquiar cuando nieva.

Now let's look at ¿Con quién?  With whom do you do activities?

For this first section, start everything with "con" (=with)

familia

mi madre
mi padre
mi hermano
mi hermana
mi tío (a)
mi primo (a)
mi abuelo (a)
mi sobrino (a)
mi hijo (a)
mis padres
mis abuelos etc.

amigos y más

mi amigo (a) mejor
mis amigos
mi novio (a)
mis compadres
mis compañeros (de clase, del equipo, del club, etc.)
extranjeros
mi perro
mi gato
mi caballo
animales de la finca
personas extrañas

or add a name.... "con Juana"

modelo:  Me gusta ir al cine con mi novia.

If you don't do it with anyone, you do it alone.  So all you have to do is say alone = solo (a) Since you don't do it "with" anyone, don't say "con".  Modelo:  Me gusta estudiar español solo.

Last part-¿Dónde?  = Where do you like to do these activities?

The following are some common places you should be familiar with:

en la escuela
en mi casa
en mi alcoba (dormitorio)
en el cine
en la casa
en la casa de* (mi amigo)
* Reminder:  There is no apostrophe in Spanish.  Possession is expressed by "de", and the word order is reversed from English.  Peter's house = la casa de Pedro
a la playa
a la piscina
en el restaurante
en el parque
en la calle
en el gimnasio
en el estaio
en la discoteca
en el teatro
en las montañas
en el centro comercial

modelo:  Me gusta correr en el parque.






As you did for the previous section, now talk about the activities you like and do not like to do.  For each you need to be able to tell at least two of three of the following: when, with whom and/or where you like to do the activity.   Be creative and honest- create a similar project and share your work.

Now you are ready to tell the person of your dreams about the things and activities you like.