¿Te gusta bailar en la escuela?

Do you like to dance at school?

Breakdown of ¿Te gusta bailar en la escuela?

• en: at
• gustar: to like
• tú: you
• la escuela: the school
• bailar: to dance
• te: you

Questions & Answers about ¿Te gusta bailar en la escuela?

Why is te used in the sentence?

In Spanish, te is the indirect object pronoun meaning to you. With the verb gustar, the person who experiences the liking is indicated by an indirect object pronoun. So te shows that you are the one who likes something.

Why does the verb gustar appear in the third-person (gusta)?

The verb gustar literally means to be pleasing, so its form agrees with the thing that pleases someone. Here, the thing that pleases you is bailar en la escuela (dancing at school), which is treated as a singular idea. Therefore, it uses gusta.

Can I say ¿Tú gustas bailar en la escuela? instead?

No, that would be grammatically incorrect in Spanish. With gustar, you use an indirect object pronoun (te) plus the third-person form (gusta). Saying Tú gustas would mean You please, which isn’t the intended meaning in Spanish.

Why do we use en la escuela instead of a la escuela?

The preposition en translates roughly to in or at. In Spanish, en la escuela implies the location of the action (dancing) is inside or at the school, rather than the idea of going to the school, which would need a la escuela.

Could we use colegio instead of escuela?

Yes, in many Spanish-speaking regions (including Spain), colegio can also mean school. Whether you use escuela or colegio can depend on local usage and the type of school, but both are generally understood.

Can I add emphasis by repeating a ti?

Yes, for emphasis you can say ¿A ti te gusta bailar en la escuela?. The a ti part clarifies or emphasizes you specifically, but it isn’t necessary for the sentence to be correct.