Plural Agreement: Gusta vs. Gustan
When you say you like something in Spanish, the thing you like is actually the subject of the sentence. If you like a single thing or an activity, use the singular gusta. If you like multiple things (a plural noun), use gustan (literally, "they are pleasing").
| I like sports. | Me gustan los deportes. |
| We like old stamps. | Nos gustan los sellos viejos. |
Notice that the pronoun (me, nos, os, etc.) tells us who likes the things, but the verb ending depends entirely on the things being liked.
Clarifying Who Likes What
The pronouns le (to him/her/formal you) and les (to them/formal you all) can refer to many different people. To clarify exactly who likes something, add a + [person] at the beginning of the sentence.
| The boys like sports. | A los niños les gustan los deportes. |
Even when specifying the people, you must keep the matching pronoun (les) right before the verb.
Whether you use gusta or gustan depends only on the item being liked, not how many people like it. If a group likes a singular item, use gusta:
| They like basketball. | A ellos les gusta el baloncesto. |
If they like multiple things, use gustan:
| The girls like horses and tigers. | A las chicas les gustan los caballos y los tigres. |
The Contraction Al
When the preposition a is followed by the masculine singular article el, they combine into the mandatory contraction al.
| The teacher likes photos of Spain. | Al profesor le gustan las fotos de España. |
This contraction only happens with el, never with la, los, or las.
