Eu gosto de descansar no sofá.

I like to rest on the sofa.

Breakdown of Eu gosto de descansar no sofá.

• eu: I
• gostar de: to like
• descansar: to rest
• no: on the

Questions & Answers about Eu gosto de descansar no sofá.

Why does the sentence use gosto de descansar and not gosto descansar?

In Portuguese, the verb gostar almost always comes with the preposition de before what you like.

• Correct: Eu gosto de descansar.
• Incorrect: Eu gosto descansar.

Think of gostar de as a single pattern:
gostar de + noun / verb (in the infinitive)

Examples:

• Eu gosto de música. = I like music.
• Eu gosto de estudar. = I like to study / I like studying.

So you should remember the chunk gostar de, not just gostar by itself.

Why is descansar (the infinitive) used, instead of something like descansando?

After gostar de, Portuguese normally uses the infinitive to express likes and preferences:

• Eu gosto de descansar. = I like to rest / I like resting.

You don’t say:

• Eu gosto de descansando. ❌

Rough equivalents:

• gostar de + infinitive ≈ to like to + verb / to like + -ing in English:
  • Eu gosto de ler. = I like to read / I like reading.
  • Ela gosta de cozinhar. = She likes to cook / cooking.

The -ndo (gerund) form is mostly used with estar:

• Estou descansando. = I am resting.

Is the Eu necessary? Can I just say Gosto de descansar no sofá?