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Me gusta el plato que mi familia prepara.

Me gusta el plato que mi familia prepara.
I like the dish my family prepares.
FromLesson 5inHardcore Spanish (Spain)

Breakdown of Me gusta el plato que mi familia prepara.

la familia
the family
yo
I
gustar
to like
mi
my
que
that
preparar
to prepare
el plato
the dish

Questions & Answers about Me gusta el plato que mi familia prepara.

Why do we use me gusta instead of yo gusto or me gusto?
In Spanish, gustar works differently than English verbs like “to like.” The literal construction is more like “the dish is pleasing to me.” That’s why we say me gusta (to me it pleases) rather than yo gusto (I please) or me gusto (I please myself). The me is an indirect object pronoun indicating who is pleased.
Why is it prepara if “mi familia” refers to more than one person?
In Spanish, mi familia is treated as a single collective subject (singular). Because of this, the verb is conjugated in the third-person singular form. For example, you say mi familia prepara, mi equipo juega, etc., rather than a plural form.
Could I say Me gusta el plato que prepara mi familia instead?
Yes, you can invert the order to Me gusta el plato que prepara mi familia. Spanish word order is more flexible than English. However, the meaning remains the same, whether you say que mi familia prepara or que prepara mi familia.
When would I use gustan instead of gusta?
Use gustan when the thing (or things) you like are plural. For instance, if you like multiple dishes, you’d say Me gustan los platos. But here, because it’s one dish (el plato), you use me gusta.
Why is que used here, and what is its function?
Que is a relative pronoun that connects “the dish” (the direct object) to the clause mi familia prepara. It translates roughly to “that” or “which” in English. It helps identify which dish you’re talking about: the dish that my family prepares.
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