Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Me gusta comparar mi progreso con mis metas, no con otras personas. - I like to compare my progress with my goals, not with other people.

Me gusta = It is pleasing to me → I like it
yo gusto = I am pleasing → People like me (and even that is rare; usually you’d say le gusto a…)

So you say:

Me gusta comparar… = Comparing is pleasing to me → I like to compare…

You almost never say yo gusto to mean I like something.

Why is it me gusta and not me gusto?

The verb form agrees with the thing that pleases, not with the person.

Me gusta comparar…
- Subject (what pleases): comparar (to compare) → treated as singular
- Verb: gusta (3rd person singular)
- Indirect object: me (to me)

Me gusto would literally mean I like myself (I find myself pleasing), which is not the meaning here.

So:

Me gusta comparar = I like to compare
Me gusto = I like myself (very different idea)

What exactly does me do in me gusta comparar…?

Me is an indirect object pronoun meaning to me or for me.

The full literal structure is:

(A mí) me gusta comparar mi progreso…
→ (To me) is pleasing to compare my progress…

Parts:

(A mí) – optional emphasized to me
me – indirect object pronoun, to me
gusta – is pleasing
comparar mi progreso… – what is pleasing (the activity)

So me tells us who likes it.

Why is comparar in the infinitive form and not conjugated, like comparo?

When you say I like to do X in Spanish, you use:

me gusta + infinitive

Me gusta comparar – I like to compare
Me gusta leer – I like to read
Me gusta correr – I like to run

If you said me gusta comparo, that would be me gusta I compare, which is ungrammatical. After me gusta, the verb stays in the infinitive.

Could I say A mí me gusta comparar… instead of just Me gusta comparar…?

Yes. Both are correct:

Me gusta comparar mi progreso…
A mí me gusta comparar mi progreso…

The difference:

Me gusta… – neutral, normal statement.
A mí me gusta… – adds emphasis or contrast, like:
- A mí me gusta comparar mi progreso… (aunque a otros no).
  I like to compare my progress (even if others don’t).

In everyday speech, Me gusta… is enough unless you want to stress I.

Why is it mi progreso and not mis progreso?

Mi/mis must agree in number with the noun:

mi
- singular noun:
  - mi progreso – my progress
  - mi casa – my house
mis
- plural noun:
  - mis progresos – my advances / improvements
  - mis casas – my houses

Here progreso is singular, so you use mi:

mi progreso ✅
mis progreso ❌ (number mismatch)

Could I say mis progresos instead of mi progreso?

Grammatically, yes:

Mis progresos = my individual improvements / steps of progress

But conceptually:

mi progreso: progress as a general, continuous idea (most common)
mis progresos: separate instances or specific advances

In this sentence, mi progreso sounds more natural because we usually think of progress as one overall process. Mis progresos is not wrong, but would sound a bit less common in this general motivational context.

Why is it mis metas and not mi metas?

Again, agreement:

metas is plural, so the possessive must be plural: mis.
mi is only for singular nouns.

So:

mi meta – my goal (one)
mis metas – my goals (more than one)

In the sentence, it’s referring to several goals, so mis metas is correct.

Why do we use con (with) in comparar mi progreso con mis metas, and not a like in English compare to?

In Spanish, the normal preposition with comparar is con:

comparar X con Y – to compare X with Y

Examples:

Comparo mis resultados con mis expectativas.
No te compares con los demás.

Using a here (like comparar mi progreso a mis metas) is not standard; it sounds influenced by English. The natural choice is con.

Why do we repeat con in …con mis metas, no con otras personas? Could we omit the second con?

You have two options:

Repeat the preposition (very natural):
- …con mis metas, no con otras personas. ✅
Restructure the sentence:
- …con mis metas y no con otras personas. ✅

But you cannot drop the second con in this exact structure:

…con mis metas, no otras personas. ❌ (sounds wrong/unfinished)

In Spanish, when you contrast two complements like this, you normally repeat the preposition (con).

Why is it otras personas and not otros personas?

Personas is a feminine plural noun:

singular: la persona
plural: las personas

So any adjective or determiner must agree:

otra persona – another person (singular, feminine)
otras personas – other people (plural, feminine)

otros personas is incorrect because otros is masculine plural and doesn’t match personas (feminine plural).

Could I say otra gente instead of otras personas?

You can, but there’s a nuance:

otras personas – other people (neutral, focuses on individual persons)
otra gente – other people / other folks (a bit more collective and sometimes slightly more informal)

Examples:

No me comparo con otras personas. ✅
No me comparo con otra gente. ✅

Both are fine in Latin American Spanish. Otras personas is a bit more neutral/formal; otra gente sounds more casual.

Why don’t we use mío/mía here, like progreso mío or metas mías?

Spanish has two main kinds of possessives:

Short forms (before the noun): mi, mis, tu, tus, su, sus, nuestro, etc.
- mi progreso
- mis metas
Long forms (after the noun): mío, míos, mía, mías, tuyo, suyo, etc.
- el progreso mío
- las metas mías

In neutral sentences, you normally use the short form before the noun, as in the example.

The long form tends to add emphasis or contrast:

Comparo el progreso mío, no el de ellos.
I compare my progress, not theirs.

So mi progreso / mis metas is the most natural and common choice here.

Is there anything specifically “Latin American” about this sentence?

The sentence:

Me gusta comparar mi progreso con mis metas, no con otras personas.

is perfectly natural in both Latin American and European (Spain) Spanish. There’s no region-specific grammar or vocabulary here.

Possible minor Latin American touches might be in pronunciation or in choosing synonyms in other contexts (like metas vs objetivos), but this exact sentence works the same across the Spanish-speaking world.