Me gusta fotografiar el bosque tranquilo.

I like to photograph the calm forest.

Breakdown of Me gusta fotografiar el bosque tranquilo.

• yo: I
• gustar: to like
• el bosque: the forest
• tranquilo: calm
• fotografiar: to photograph

Questions & Answers about Me gusta fotografiar el bosque tranquilo.

Why is gustar used as me gusta instead of yo gusto?

In Spanish gustar doesn’t follow the “I like something” pattern you have in English. It literally means “to be pleasing to.” So:

• Me = “to me” (indirect object pronoun)
• gusta = “it pleases”

Literally Me gusta fotografiar el bosque tranquilo = “Photographing the tranquil forest is pleasing to me.” We translate it naturally as “I like to photograph the tranquil forest.” Saying yo gusto would mean “I please,” which is not how Spanish expresses liking.

Why is fotografiar in the infinitive rather than a conjugated form?

After gustar, if you want to talk about liking an action, you always use the infinitive. You never conjugate it. Examples:

• Me gusta comer tacos. (I like to eat tacos.)
• Les gusta viajar. (They like to travel.)

Here, fotografiar remains in the infinitive because “photographing” itself is the thing that pleases you.

Why do we include the definite article el before bosque tranquilo? Could we say Me gusta fotografiar bosque tranquilo?

In Spanish you normally use the definite article when speaking about something in a general or typical sense.

• El bosque = “the forest” (in general)

Omitting the article (fotografiar bosque tranquilo) sounds awkward in everyday speech. You can occasionally drop articles in poetry or headlines, but the grammatically correct, natural version is fotografiar el bosque tranquilo.

Why does the adjective tranquilo come after bosque? Can I put it before?

Standard Spanish adjective order places descriptive adjectives after the noun:

• bosque tranquilo

Putting tranquilo before (el tranquilo bosque) is grammatically possible but gives it a poetic or emphatic feel. In neutral, everyday language, always say bosque tranquilo.

How would I change this sentence to talk about multiple forests?

You need to pluralize both the noun and the adjective (and the article, if you keep it):

• Me gusta fotografiar bosques tranquilos. (I like to photograph tranquil forests.)
  Or, using the definite article for a general statement:
• Me gusta fotografiar los bosques tranquilos.

Note: Even though bosques tranquilos is plural, gusta stays singular because the real subject of the sentence is the infinitive phrase fotografiar….

How do I make the sentence negative or turn it into a question?

To negate, place no before the pronoun:

• No me gusta fotografiar el bosque tranquilo. (I don’t like to photograph the tranquil forest.)

To ask someone else, change the pronoun and add question marks:

• ¿Te gusta fotografiar el bosque tranquilo? (Do you like to photograph the tranquil forest?)

If you really wanted to ask about yourself (rare), you could say:

• ¿Me gusta fotografiar el bosque tranquilo? (Do I like to photograph the tranquil forest?)

How can I express a stronger liking, like “I love photographing the tranquil forest”?

Use encantar (which also follows the indirect-object pattern):

• Me encanta fotografiar el bosque tranquilo. (I love to photograph the tranquil forest.)

Or intensify gustar with mucho:

• Me gusta mucho fotografiar el bosque tranquilo.