Me gusta cerrar la puerta por la noche.

I like to close the door at night.

Breakdown of Me gusta cerrar la puerta por la noche.

• yo: I
• la noche: the night
• gustar: to like
• cerrar: to close
• la puerta: the door

Questions & Answers about Me gusta cerrar la puerta por la noche.

Why do we say Me gusta instead of Yo gusto?

In Spanish, gustar literally means “to be pleasing (to someone).” Rather than saying “I like,” the structure is more like “It is pleasing to me,” which is why you use the pronoun me (to me) and say Me gusta. Saying Yo gusto would imply “I please,” which isn’t how Spanish speakers typically express liking something.

Why is the verb cerrar used in the infinitive form after Me gusta?

After gustar, Spanish generally uses an infinitive to express what action is liked. So, you say Me gusta cerrar to mean “I like to close.” When a verb follows gustar, the unconjugated form (infinitive) is required.

Why do we use la puerta (feminine) rather than el puerta (masculine)?

In Spanish, nouns have grammatical gender that doesn’t always match a logical pattern in English. La puerta is a feminine noun by convention, so it always uses the feminine article la. The word puerta is simply one of those nouns with a feminine gender.

What does por la noche mean, and why is it used instead of en la noche?

Por la noche generally means “at night,” or “during the night,” focusing on the nighttime period in general. Using en la noche can sound more like you are talking about a specific moment in the night or an event that happens in the night. Por la noche is the common phrase to express “at night” in a general sense.

Can I say Me gusta cerrar la puerta en la noche instead?

It’s not incorrect, but it’s less common. Most Spanish speakers would naturally say por la noche to indicate a habitual or general action done at night. Saying en la noche can place more emphasis on a specific night moment, but usually por la noche sounds more natural in everyday speech.