Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): Me gusta escuchar el consejo de mi profesora.

English: I like advice. → subject = I
Spanish: Me gusta el consejo. literally = “The advice pleases me.”
- subject = el consejo (the thing that pleases)
- me = indirect object (to me / for me)

So you don’t say yo gusto el consejo, because you are not the one “doing” the action. The advice is doing the “pleasing,” and you are the person who receives that pleasing:

Me gusta escuchar el consejo de mi profesora.
= “Listening to my teacher’s advice pleases me.”

That’s why the pattern is [indirect object pronoun] + gusta + thing/verb that you like, e.g.:

Me gusta el café. (Coffee pleases me = I like coffee.)
Nos gusta estudiar. (Studying pleases us = We like studying.)

What exactly does me do in me gusta? Can I leave it out?

Me is an indirect object pronoun meaning “to me / for me.” With gustar, it’s essential:

Me gusta… = “It pleases me / I like…”
Te gusta… = “It pleases you / You like…”
Le gusta… = “It pleases him/her/you (formal) / He-She-You like(s)…”

You cannot leave it out.

Compare:

✅ Me gusta escuchar el consejo. = I like listening to the advice.
❌ Gusta escuchar el consejo. = ungrammatical; we don’t know who it pleases.

So me is required to show who likes it.

Why is it gusta and not gustan here?

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

In your sentence, what is liked is the whole activity: escuchar el consejo de mi profesora. That whole phrase counts as one thing, so we use gusta (singular):

Me gusta escuchar el consejo de mi profesora.

Use gusta with:

a single noun: Me gusta el consejo.
an infinitive (verb-as-noun): Me gusta escuchar.
several verbs: Me gusta leer y escribir. (still singular)

Use gustan with plural nouns:

Me gustan los consejos de mi profesora. = I like my teacher’s pieces of advice.
Nos gustan los libros de historia. = We like history books.

Why is escuchar in the infinitive form? Could I conjugate it, like escucho?

After gustar, when you talk about activities you like, you normally use the infinitive (the basic, -ar/-er/-ir form), not a conjugated verb:

Me gusta escuchar. = I like to listen / I like listening.
Me gusta leer libros. = I like to read books.

You cannot say:

❌ Me gusta escucho el consejo…

That would be mixing a structure that doesn’t work. If you want to conjugate escuchar, you have to use a different pattern, not gustar:

Escucho el consejo de mi profesora porque me parece útil.
= I listen to my teacher’s advice because it seems useful to me.

Why is it el consejo and not just consejo without el?

In Spanish, singular countable nouns usually need an article (like el, la, un, una) unless there’s a special reason to omit it.

el consejo = “the advice / the piece of advice”
un consejo = “a (piece of) advice”

So:

✅ Me gusta escuchar el consejo de mi profesora.
✅ Me gusta escuchar un consejo de mi profesora. (a piece of advice)
❌ Me gusta escuchar consejo de mi profesora. (sounds wrong in standard Spanish)

The article el makes consejo a concrete thing, similar to saying “the advice” or “the piece of advice” in English.

Why is it el consejo in singular? English just says “advice” without singular/plural.

In English, “advice” is usually uncountable. In Spanish, consejo is countable:

un consejo = one piece of advice
dos consejos = two pieces of advice
el consejo = the advice / the piece of advice
los consejos = the advice (plural), the pieces of advice

Your sentence suggests advice in general from this teacher, seen as a kind of general guidance:

Me gusta escuchar el consejo de mi profesora.
→ “I like listening to my teacher’s advice (in general).”

If you want to stress separate pieces of advice, you can say:

Me gusta escuchar los consejos de mi profesora.
= I like listening to my teacher’s pieces of advice.

Could I say los consejos de mi profesora instead of el consejo de mi profesora? What’s the difference?

Yes, both are correct, but they have a slightly different nuance:

el consejo de mi profesora
- focuses on her advice in general as a kind of unified thing, or on “her way of advising.”
los consejos de mi profesora
- focuses on multiple pieces of advice, separate bits she gives you.

In many real situations, both are possible and the difference is subtle:

Me gusta escuchar el consejo de mi profesora.
Me gusta escuchar los consejos de mi profesora.

Both are natural; the plural makes you picture lots of different tips a bit more clearly.

Why is it de mi profesora and not a mi profesora?

The preposition changes the meaning:

de = from / of
- el consejo de mi profesora = the advice from my teacher
a = to (direction / recipient)
- doy el consejo a mi profesora = I give the advice to my teacher

In your sentence, the idea is:
“I like listening to my teacher’s advice / the advice that comes from my teacher,”
so de is the correct preposition:

✅ el consejo de mi profesora = my teacher’s advice
❌ el consejo a mi profesora = would mean “the advice to my teacher,” which is not the meaning here.

Could I say de la profesora instead of de mi profesora?

Yes, but the meaning changes slightly:

de mi profesora = of my teacher (possessive, your specific teacher)
de la profesora = of the teacher (some specific teacher already known from context, but not marked as “mine”)

Examples:

Me gusta escuchar el consejo de mi profesora.
= I like listening to my (own) teacher’s advice.
Me gusta escuchar el consejo de la profesora.
= I like listening to the teacher’s advice (maybe a teacher the group knows, not necessarily your teacher).

So mi is more personal and specific.

Why is it profesora and not profesor or maestra in Spain?

profesora = female teacher (normally secondary school, high school, university)
profesor = male teacher (same levels)
maestra / maestro = often used more for primary/elementary school teachers, or in more Latin-American use; in Spain, profesor/a is more common for most school levels and university.

So:

mi profesora = my (female) teacher / lecturer.
If it were a man, it would be mi profesor.

In Spain, saying mi maestra for a high school or university teacher would usually sound strange; mi profesora is standard.

Can I add a mí and say A mí me gusta escuchar el consejo de mi profesora?

Yes, and it’s very common.

Me gusta escuchar el consejo de mi profesora. = neutral: I like it.
A mí me gusta escuchar el consejo de mi profesora.
- adds emphasis or contrast, like:
  - “As for me, I like listening to my teacher’s advice (even if others don’t).”

The pattern is:

A mí me gusta…
A ti te gusta…
A él / a ella le gusta…

You don’t have to use a mí, but it’s useful when you want to emphasize who likes it, or to contrast with someone else.

Can I change the word order and say Escuchar el consejo de mi profesora me gusta?

Yes, that word order is possible but marked; it sounds more literary or emphatic.

Standard, neutral order:

Me gusta escuchar el consejo de mi profesora.

Emphatic or stylistic inversion:

Escuchar el consejo de mi profesora me gusta.
→ Emphasis on the activity: “Listening to my teacher’s advice, that I like.”

In everyday spoken Spanish, the first version is much more common and natural. Use inversion only if you’re imitating a poetic, dramatic, or very expressive style.

What’s the difference between escuchar and oír in a sentence like this?

oír = to hear (the physical act, sound reaches your ears)
escuchar = to listen (to) (an intentional action, paying attention)

In your sentence, escuchar is the right verb because it’s about actively listening to advice, not just hearing sounds:

Me gusta escuchar el consejo de mi profesora.
= I like to listen (actively) to my teacher’s advice.

You could say:

Oigo a mi profesora desde mi casa.
= I can hear my teacher from my house.

But that doesn’t imply attention or interest, just sound. Here, escuchar is the natural choice.