Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): Me gusta descansar en mi pueblo en verano.

So Spanish is saying: “To me, it is pleasing to rest in my town in summer.”
Because of that structure, you don’t say yo gusto (I please), but me gusta (it pleases me).

What is the function of me in me gusta descansar?

me is an indirect object pronoun meaning “to me”.

The underlying structure is:

A mí (to me)
me (to me)
gusta (is pleasing)
descansar en mi pueblo en verano (resting in my town in summer)

So me tells you who finds it pleasing. You could also say A mí me gusta descansar… for extra emphasis on “I like…”, but me gusta alone is completely normal and correct.

Why is it gusta and not gustan here?

The verb gustar agrees with what is liked, not with the person who likes it.

Me gusta descansar. → What is liked = descansar (resting) → singular → gusta
Me gustan las vacaciones. → What is liked = las vacaciones (holidays) → plural → gustan

In the sentence Me gusta descansar en mi pueblo en verano, the thing you like is one activity: descansar. That’s singular, so you use gusta.

Why is descansar in the infinitive instead of descanso?

In Spanish, after gustar, you normally use:

a noun → Me gusta el café.
or an infinitive (the “to _” form) → Me gusta descansar.

In English you say “I like resting” or “I like to rest”, but in Spanish the verb stays in the infinitive: descansar.

Me descanso would mean “I rest myself”, and it doesn’t fit with gustar. With gustar, keep the other verb in the infinitive: me gusta descansar.

Why is it en mi pueblo and not a mi pueblo?

en and a have different main uses:

en = in, on, at → used for location
- Descanso en mi pueblo. = I rest in my town.
a = to → used for movement / direction
- Voy a mi pueblo. = I go to my town.

In Me gusta descansar en mi pueblo, you are talking about being located there while you rest, not about going there. So en is the correct preposition.

What does mi pueblo really mean? Is it just “my town”?

Literally, mi pueblo = my town or my village.

But in Spain, mi pueblo very often means “my hometown / the town my family comes from”, even if you currently live elsewhere (maybe in a big city).

So Me gusta descansar en mi pueblo en verano can be understood as:
“I like to go back to my hometown / my village and relax there in the summer.”

Why is there no yo in the sentence?

In Spanish you usually omit subject pronouns (yo, tú, él, etc.) when the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

With me gusta, the me already tells us the person who likes it is “me”. Adding yo is not necessary.

You can say:

Me gusta descansar en mi pueblo en verano. (normal, neutral)
A mí me gusta descansar en mi pueblo en verano. (emphasis on I like it, maybe in contrast to others)

But Yo me gusta descansar… is incorrect; that mixes the English structure with Spanish grammar.

Could I say En verano me gusta descansar en mi pueblo instead? Is that still correct?

Yes, that’s perfectly correct and very natural.

Spanish word order is quite flexible. All of these are possible, with slightly different emphasis:

Me gusta descansar en mi pueblo en verano.
En verano me gusta descansar en mi pueblo. (emphasis on in summer)
En mi pueblo me gusta descansar en verano. (emphasis on in my town)

The basic meaning stays the same: you like resting in your town during summer.

Why is it en verano and not en el verano?

With seasons, Spanish can use them:

with the article: el verano
without the article: verano

Both are correct, but in this kind of general statement, omitting the article is very common:

En verano hace calor. = In (the) summer it’s hot.
En invierno nieva. = In (the) winter it snows.

En el verano is also correct, but may sound a bit more specific or formal in some contexts. In everyday Spanish, en verano is the most natural here.

Is descansar the same as relajarse?

They are related but not exactly the same:

descansar = to rest, to take a break, to stop working or making an effort
- Necesito descansar. = I need to rest.
relajarse = to relax (to become relaxed), often more about your mental / physical state
- Quiero relajarme en la playa. = I want to relax on the beach.

In this sentence, Me gusta descansar en mi pueblo en verano suggests you like to rest / take it easy in your hometown in summer. You could also say:

Me gusta relajarme en mi pueblo en verano. = I like to relax in my town in summer.

Both are fine; the nuance is slightly different.

Can I add a mí and say A mí me gusta descansar en mi pueblo en verano?

Yes, that is completely correct and very natural.

Me gusta descansar… = I like to rest… (neutral)
A mí me gusta descansar… = I like to rest… (with emphasis on me, often contrasting with others)

For example:

A mí me gusta descansar en mi pueblo en verano, pero a mi hermano le gusta viajar.
= I like to rest in my town in summer, but my brother likes to travel.

So a mí is optional and used for emphasis or contrast.

What is the difference between mi and mí? Why is it mi pueblo without an accent?

Spanish has two different words:

mi (without accent) = my
- mi pueblo, mi casa, mi coche
mí (with accent) = me (stressed form of the pronoun)
- para mí (for me)
- a mí me gusta (I like)

In mi pueblo, you are using the possessive adjective (my), so there is no accent: mi.

If you write mí pueblo, it would be wrong: mí can’t be used before a noun like that.