Breakdown of Me gusta esa bufanda porque cubre mi cuello y mis hombros.
yo
I
mi
my
gustar
to like
y
and
porque
because
esa
that
cubrir
to cover
el hombro
the shoulder
la bufanda
the scarf
el cuello
the neck
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Questions & Answers about Me gusta esa bufanda porque cubre mi cuello y mis hombros.
Why do we say Me gusta esa bufanda instead of Yo gusto esa bufanda?
In Spanish, gustar doesn’t behave like the English verb “to like.” It literally means “to be pleasing to.” The thing you like is the grammatical subject, and the person who likes it is expressed with an indirect object pronoun. So you say Me gusta esa bufanda (“That scarf is pleasing to me”) rather than Yo gusto esa bufanda.
What does me represent in this sentence?
Me is the indirect object pronoun meaning “to me.” It tells us who experiences the pleasure: esa bufanda pleases me.
Why is the verb gusta in the third-person singular form?
Because the subject of gustar is esa bufanda, which is singular. If you were talking about multiple scarves, you’d say Me gustan esas bufandas (plural).
Why do we use esa bufanda? How is esa different from esta and aquella?
These are demonstrative adjectives:
- esta bufanda = this scarf (near the speaker)
- esa bufanda = that scarf (near the listener or contextually established)
- aquella bufanda = that scarf over there (far from both)
Here esa bufanda signals “that particular scarf” without it being right next to you.
Why is porque written as one word here? When would I use por qué, por que, or porqué?
- porque (one word, no accent) is the conjunction “because.”
- por qué (two words, accent) appears in questions: “¿Por qué?” = “Why?”
- por que (two words, no accent) shows up in certain formal constructions (“la razón por que…”), but it’s rare.
- porqué (one word, accent) is a noun meaning “the reason.”
In our sentence we need the conjunction porque.
Why do we use the verb cubre, and why is it in the present tense?
Cubrir means “to cover.” Here we use cubre (third-person singular, present) because we’re stating a general, current fact: that scarf covers (presently covers) my neck and shoulders.
Why is there no preposition before mi cuello and mis hombros when using cubre?
Cubrir is a transitive verb, so it takes a direct object without any preposition. You simply say cubre mi cuello or cubre mis hombros.
Why do we say mi cuello (singular) but mis hombros (plural)? Do we need to repeat the possessive?
You choose mi or mis to agree with the noun’s number: one neck = mi cuello, two shoulders = mis hombros. It’s also fine to repeat the possessive (mi cuello y mis hombros) for clarity, though you could say mi cuello y hombros and still be understood.
Can I add A mí at the beginning? What does that do?
Yes. A mí me gusta esa bufanda adds emphasis or contrast (e.g., “As for me, I like that scarf”). It doesn’t change the basic meaning, but it highlights who likes it.