Me gusta descansar después de trabajar el fin de semana.

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Breakdown of Me gusta descansar después de trabajar el fin de semana.

• gustar: to like
• después de: after
• el fin de semana: the weekend
• descansar: to rest
• trabajar: to work

Questions & Answers about Me gusta descansar después de trabajar el fin de semana.

Why is Me gusta used instead of a phrase like Yo gusto?

In Spanish, the construction Gustar actually means something akin to “to be pleasing (to someone).” That’s why we say Me gusta (literally, “It pleases me”) rather than Yo gusto (“I please”). The pronoun me indicates that I am the one pleased by the action of resting.

Why are the verbs descansar and trabajar in the infinitive form?

Descansar and trabajar follow the pattern that when one verb follows another, the second verb is often left in the infinitive. The phrase Me gusta descansar (I like to rest) and después de trabajar (after working) both require the infinitive forms because they’re governed by gustar (in the first case) and después de (in the second case).

Why is it el fin de semana instead of something like en el fin de semana?

In Spanish, when talking about something you do on the weekend, it’s common to say el fin de semana without an additional preposition. So trabajar el fin de semana simply means “to work on the weekend.” It’s just a standard usage in Spanish: prepositions may not always translate directly from English.

Could I say Me gusta relajarme instead of Me gusta descansar?

Yes, you can say Me gusta relajarme (“I like to relax”). Using descansar or relajarme is a stylistic preference; both convey a similar idea of taking some rest, but descansar focuses more on “resting,” while relajarme focuses on “relaxing.”

Is después de always followed by an infinitive when speaking about an action?

Yes, when después de refers to performing an action, it’s followed by the infinitive. For instance, después de comer (after eating), después de estudiar (after studying), etc. If you’re referring to a noun, you’d just say something like después de la cena (after dinner).