Learn Spanish (Spain): ¿Te gusta aquella corbata azul? - Do you like that blue tie over there?

¿Te gusta aquella corbata azul?

Do you like that blue tie over there?

Breakdown of ¿Te gusta aquella corbata azul?

gustar

to like

to you / yourself (reflexive) / you (direct object)

azul

blue

aquel

that over there (m.sg., also aquella, aquellos, aquellas, aquello)

Questions & Answers about ¿Te gusta aquella corbata azul?

Why use aquella instead of esa if both mean "that"?

In Spanish, there are two ways to say "that". You use esa for something close to the person you are talking to, like a tie they are holding. You use aquella for something far away from both of you, which we often translate as "that one over there".

Why is the word aquella rather than aquel?

Pointing words have to match the gender of the noun they describe. Because corbata (tie) is a feminine noun, we use the feminine singular form aquella. If we were pointing at a masculine noun like traje (suit), we would use aquel.

Why is the verb gusta instead of gustas when asking "Do you like"?

The verb gustar works backwards compared to English; it literally means "to be pleasing to". The sentence actually asks "Is that blue tie pleasing to you?". Since the tie is doing the pleasing and it is a single object, we use the "it" form of the verb, which is gusta.

Why does aquella go before the noun, but azul goes after it?

In Spanish, words that point out which specific object you mean (like este, esa, or aquella) always go in front of the noun. However, words that describe what the object looks like (like colours, such as azul) almost always come after the noun.