Breakdown of Me gusta la proteína vegetal de este plato.
Questions & Answers about Me gusta la proteína vegetal de este plato.
In Spanish, gustar works differently from to like in English.
- Literally, gustar means to be pleasing.
- So Me gusta la proteína vegetal literally is The plant protein is pleasing to me.
Grammar structure:
- me = to me (indirect object pronoun)
- gusta = is pleasing (3rd person singular)
- la proteína vegetal de este plato = the thing that is pleasing (the subject)
So you don’t say yo gusto la proteína vegetal.
Instead, you say Me gusta la proteína vegetal, because the protein is the subject, and me is the person it pleases.
The subject is la proteína vegetal de este plato.
Breakdown:
- Me – indirect object (to me)
- gusta – verb
- la proteína vegetal de este plato – subject (what is pleasing)
You can check this by making the sentence more neutral:
- La proteína vegetal de este plato me gusta.
(Same meaning, but you see more clearly that la proteína vegetal de este plato is the subject.)
You use gusta because the subject is singular: la proteína vegetal (one thing).
- Singular thing:
- Me gusta la proteína vegetal. – I like the plant protein.
- Plural things:
- Me gustan las proteínas vegetales. – I like the plant proteins.
So the verb gustar agrees with what is liked, not with the person who likes it.
Yes, but the meaning changes slightly.
Me gusta la proteína vegetal de este plato.
→ I like the (overall) plant protein in this dish. (treated as one component)Me gustan las proteínas vegetales de este plato.
→ I like the plant proteins in this dish. (several different plant proteins, e.g. beans, tofu, lentils)
Use gusta + singular if you’re thinking of it as one element, gustan + plural if you’re talking about multiple distinct items.
In this sentence, you normally need the article:
- Me gusta la proteína vegetal de este plato. ✅
This is because you are talking about a specific, identifiable thing: the plant protein in this dish.
Without the article, Me gusta proteína vegetal sounds incomplete or unnatural in standard Spanish. Dropping the article can sometimes happen in very general or headline-like contexts (e.g. menus, labels), but in a normal sentence like this, you should keep la.
Both are possible, but they focus on slightly different ideas:
de este plato – literally of this dish
- Emphasises that the plant protein belongs to or is part of this dish.
- Me gusta la proteína vegetal de este plato.
→ I like the plant protein that this dish has.
en este plato – in this dish / on this plate
- Emphasises the location of the protein.
- Me gusta la proteína vegetal en este plato.
→ I like the plant protein in this dish (less idiomatic in this specific sentence, but understandable).
In the original sentence, de este plato is more natural because we’re talking about an ingredient as a characteristic of the dish.
Because plato is a masculine noun in Spanish.
- Masculine singular: este plato
- Feminine singular: esta sopa
- Masculine plural: estos platos
- Feminine plural: estas sopas
The demonstrative (este/esta/estos/estas) must agree in gender and number with the noun it modifies.
Since plato is masculine singular, you must say este plato.
In this context, plato means dish in the sense of a prepared meal.
- un plato – a dish / a course (e.g. a main course, a starter)
- un plato can also mean a plate (the object), depending on context.
Because we are talking about la proteína vegetal de este plato, it clearly refers to the dish (the food preparation), not just the physical plate.
Both refer to plant-based protein, but there is a nuance:
proteína vegetal
- Everyday, natural expression.
- Means plant protein / plant-based protein.
- Common in conversation, menus, and packaging.
proteína de origen vegetal
- Literally protein of plant origin.
- More technical or formal; often seen in labels, nutrition texts, regulations.
In normal speech about food, proteína vegetal is shorter and sounds more natural.
Yes, that is perfectly correct and natural.
- Me gusta la proteína vegetal de este plato.
- La proteína vegetal de este plato me gusta.
Both mean the same. The first order is more neutral; the second one often adds a bit of emphasis to la proteína vegetal de este plato, as if contrasting it with other things (for example, you might like the protein but not the sauce).
You can add the stressed pronoun a mí:
- A mí me gusta la proteína vegetal de este plato.
This often implies contrast:
→ I (maybe not others) like the plant protein in this dish.
To add intensity, you can also add mucho, bastante, etc.:
- A mí me gusta mucho la proteína vegetal de este plato.
→ I really like the plant protein in this dish.
Me here is an indirect object pronoun, not a direct object.
Literal structure:
- La proteína vegetal de este plato – subject
- gusta – verb
- me – indirect object (to me / for me)
So the idea is:
La proteína vegetal de este plato me gusta.
→ The plant protein in this dish is pleasing to me.
With gustar, the person who likes something is expressed with an indirect object pronoun: me, te, le, nos, os, les.
Using gustar with la proteína vegetal de este plato (singular thing) you get:
- Me gusta la proteína vegetal de este plato. – I like…
- Te gusta la proteína vegetal de este plato. – You like… (informal singular)
- Le gusta la proteína vegetal de este plato. – He/She/You (formal singular) likes…
- Nos gusta la proteína vegetal de este plato. – We like…
- Os gusta la proteína vegetal de este plato. – You all like… (informal plural, Spain)
- Les gusta la proteína vegetal de este plato. – They / You (plural, formal or Latin America) like…
The verb gusta stays the same because the thing liked (the plant protein) is singular; only the pronoun (me, te, le, nos, os, les) changes.