Después de la escuela, me gusta charlar con mi amiga.

After school, I like to chat with my friend.

Breakdown of Después de la escuela, me gusta charlar con mi amiga.

• yo: I
• gustar: to like
• la escuela: the school
• mi: my
• con: with
• después de: after
• la amiga: the friend
• charlar: to chat

Questions & Answers about Después de la escuela, me gusta charlar con mi amiga.

Why does the sentence use me gusta instead of something like yo gusto?

In Spanish, gustar literally means to be pleasing, so when you say me gusta, you’re literally saying it is pleasing to me. The pronoun me is the indirect object receiving the action (the thing pleasing you), so you don’t often say yo gusto to express liking something. Instead, me gusta is the natural construction.

Why do we say después de la escuela and not just después la escuela?

When después (meaning after) is used before a noun or verb, Spanish grammar typically requires de to link them (for example, después de clase, después de comer, etc.). It functions similarly to depending on a preposition in English (like saying after school vs. after of school, though it's a bit different in structure).

What is the difference between charlar and hablar?

Both verbs deal with the idea of talking, but charlar often implies a more casual, lighthearted chat or chitchat, while hablar can simply mean to speak or to talk. In many contexts, they’re interchangeable, but charlar emphasizes a friendly or informal conversation.

Why is mi amiga used instead of something like la amiga?

In Spanish, mi amiga means my friend and personalizes who you’re talking about. Saying just la amiga would mean the friend and would be less personal, used more often if you needed to specify a friend in a more general context, or if the person isn’t directly related to you. Here, mi makes it clear she is your friend.