Me gusta jugar con mis amigos en el parque.

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Breakdown of Me gusta jugar con mis amigos en el parque.

• gustar: to like
• en: in
• con: with
• el parque: the park
• mis: my
• jugar: to play

Questions & Answers about Me gusta jugar con mis amigos en el parque.

Why do we say Me gusta instead of Yo gusto in Spanish?

In Spanish, gustar literally means "to be pleasing," so the person liking something becomes the indirect object. Instead of saying "I please something" (as in English), we say "Something is pleasing to me." The construction Me gusta reflects that something (in this case, jugar con mis amigos en el parque) is pleasing to me, hence the me (indirect object pronoun) and gusta (the 3rd-person form of the verb gustar).

Why is jugar used in its infinitive form here?

Whenever we talk about enjoying an activity with "me gusta," the action word (the verb) follows as an infinitive. So, after Me gusta, you use jugar (to play)—not juego (I play). This is typical in Spanish whenever one verb (gustar) is followed by another verb that describes what is liked.

Why do we say con mis amigos instead of, say, a mis amigos?

In Spanish, con means "with." If you said "a mis amigos," it would suggest a direction towards your friends or possibly an action happening to them. Since the idea is "playing with my friends," con is the correct preposition to show companionship.

Why is it en el parque and not al parque?

En means "in" or "at," indicating a location. You’re saying that the playing happens in/at the park. If you used al parque, it would generally mean "to the park," focusing on going to the park rather than being or playing in it.

Is there a difference between Me gusta jugar con mis amigos en el parque and Me gustan mis amigos en el parque?

Yes. Me gusta jugar con mis amigos en el parque means "I like to play with my friends at the park." However, Me gustan mis amigos en el parque would literally mean "My friends at the park are pleasing to me," focusing on how you find your friends (the people) enjoyable, rather than the activity of playing with them. The first sentence emphasizes the action of playing; the second emphasizes the people themselves.