Eu gosto da história.

I like the story.

Breakdown of Eu gosto da história.

• eu: I
• gostar de: to like
• a história: the story

Questions & Answers about Eu gosto da história.

Why do we say da in Eu gosto da história instead of de a?

In Portuguese, the preposition de combines (contracts) with definite articles:

• de + a = da (feminine singular)
• de + o = do (masculine singular)
• de + as = das (feminine plural)
• de + os = dos (masculine plural)

So de a história must become da história.
Because gostar requires de, and história is feminine and specific (with a = the), you get gosto da história.

Why can’t I just say Eu gosto história without de/da?

The verb gostar in Portuguese almost always needs the preposition de before its object:

• Eu gosto de chocolate.
• Eu gosto de música.
• Eu gosto da história.

Saying Eu gosto história (without de) is incorrect. Think of gostar de as a single unit, like “to be fond of” in English; you can’t say “I’m fond this” without of.

What is the difference between Eu gosto da história and Eu gosto de história?

They suggest different meanings:

• Eu gosto da história.
  → I like the story / the history (a specific one, known to both speakers).
  The da points to a particular story/history already mentioned or understood.

• Eu gosto de história.
  → I like history (as a subject in general) or stories in general, depending on context.
  There is no definite article, so it feels more general or non‑specific.

So da história = a specific one; de história = the subject/field or stories in general.

Why does gostar need de? Is it always gostar de?

Yes: the usual pattern is gostar de + noun/verb.

• With a noun: Eu gosto de café.
• With a pronoun: Eu gosto de você.
• With a verb (action): Eu gosto de ler.

De is part of the verb’s government (the way it “selects” prepositions). You almost always need de, unless in some very informal speech where people might drop it in fixed expressions (e.g. Gosto muito dele → sometimes heard as Gosto muito ele, but that’s not standard).

Can I drop Eu and just say Gosto da história?

Yes. In Portuguese, subject pronouns are often omitted because the verb form already shows the person:

• Eu gosto da história.
• Gosto da história.

Both are correct.
Using Eu adds emphasis or clarity (for example, contrasting with someone else: Eu gosto da história, mas ela não gosta.).

Does história mean “story” or “history” here? How do I know?

História can mean both story and history. Context tells you which:

• As story:
  Eu gosto da história do filme. – I like the movie’s story/plot.
• As history (the subject or past events):
  Eu gosto da história do Brasil. – I like Brazil’s history.

In Eu gosto da história by itself, both readings are possible; you’d need more context to be sure.

Why does história have an accent on the ó? What does that change?

The accent shows:

1. Where the stress falls:
   his-TÓ-ri-a (stress on the second syllable), not HI-sto-ria or his-to-RI-a.
2. The type of vowel sound: in most Brazilian accents, ó is a more closed / rounded o sound than an unstressed o.

So história is pronounced roughly is-TÓ-ree-ah, with the emphasis on TÓ.

Is the h in história pronounced?

No. In Brazilian Portuguese, h at the beginning of a word is silent.

• história → pronounced like istória
• hoje → like oje
• homem → like omem

So Eu gosto da história sounds (roughly) like “eu gosto da istória”.

How do you pronounce the whole sentence Eu gosto da história in Brazilian Portuguese?

Approximate Brazilian pronunciation (generalized):

• Eu → like “eh-oo” or “eu” in one syllable
• gosto → GÓS-too (the final o often sounds like u)
• da → da (short a, like “duh” but with a clear a)
• história → is-TÓ-ree-ah, with stress on TÓ, silent h, and a tapped r (like the American English t in “water” in some accents)

Altogether: something like “eu GÓ-stu da is-TÓ-ree-a”.

Is da masculine or feminine? How do these contractions work?

Da is feminine singular, because it comes from de + a:

• de + a (fem. sing.) = da
  Eu gosto da história. – I like the story / history.

The full set:

• de + o (masc. sing.) = do → Eu gosto do livro.
• de + a (fem. sing.) = da → Eu gosto da música.
• de + os (masc. pl.) = dos → Eu gosto dos livros.
• de + as (fem. pl.) = das → Eu gosto das músicas.

You choose do/da/dos/das according to the gender and number of the noun.

Could I say Eu amo a história instead? What is the difference between gostar and amar?

You can say Eu amo a história, but it is stronger and less common in everyday speech.

• gostar (de) ≈ “to like / to enjoy”
  Eu gosto da história. – I like the story.
• amar ≈ “to love” (more intense, emotional)
  Eu amo essa história. – I love that story (maybe it’s your favorite).

For most casual preferences (books, movies, subjects), Brazilians typically use gostar de, not amar, unless they really want to emphasize strong feeling.

Can I change the word order to Da história eu gosto?

Yes, that is grammatically correct, but it sounds marked or emphatic, sometimes a bit literary or “poetic.”

• Eu gosto da história. – neutral, most common order.
• Da história eu gosto. – puts extra emphasis on da história, like “It’s the story that I like.”

You would hear this kind of inversion for emphasis, contrast, or style, not as the default everyday order.

How do I say “I like the stories” in Portuguese?

You make both the article and the noun plural, and keep de contracted:

• Eu gosto das histórias.

Breakdown:

• de + as = das (feminine plural)
• história → histórias in the plural
  So: de as histórias → das histórias.

Is this sentence formal, informal, or neutral?

Eu gosto da história. is neutral. It works in almost any context:

• Talking to friends
• In class
• In a polite conversation

If you drop Eu (Gosto da história.), it is still neutral; subject dropping is normal and not especially informal in Portuguese.

What is the difference between história and estória?

In modern Brazilian Portuguese:

• história is used for both “history” and “story” in almost all contexts.
• estória is rare and somewhat old-fashioned; some writers used it to mean only “fictional story”, reserving história for real history. This distinction is not common in everyday usage now.

So you can safely use história for both meanings; that’s what most Brazilians do today.