Gustar conjugation: main tenses of "to like" in Spanish
Gustar means "to like". Regular -ar verb, used "backwards". Present tense: gusto, gustas, gusta, gustamos, gustáis, gustan. Preterite: gusté, gustaste, gustó… The past participle is gustado and the gerund is gustando.
Infinitive
gustar
Pronunciation
goos-TAHR
IPA
/ɡusˈtaɾ/
Meaning
to like
Type
Regular -ar verb, used "backwards"
Gerund
gustando
Past participle
gustado
Pronunciation is spelled out in English, one syllable at a time, with the stressed syllable in capitals. Every form of this verb is regular, so nothing is highlighted. Tap any form to hear it.
Gustar in the indicative
PresentePresent
what happens now or usually
yo
gusto
tú
gustas
él / ella / usted
gusta
nosotros
gustamos
vosotros
gustáis
ellos / ellas / ustedes
gustan
Pretérito indefinidoPreterite
a finished action in the past
yo
gusté
tú
gustaste
él / ella / usted
gustó
nosotros
gustamos
vosotros
gustasteis
ellos / ellas / ustedes
gustaron
Pretérito imperfectoImperfect
an ongoing or repeated action in the past
yo
gustaba
tú
gustabas
él / ella / usted
gustaba
nosotros
gustábamos
vosotros
gustabais
ellos / ellas / ustedes
gustaban
Futuro simpleFuture
what will happen
yo
gustaré
tú
gustarás
él / ella / usted
gustará
nosotros
gustaremos
vosotros
gustaréis
ellos / ellas / ustedes
gustarán
Condicional simpleConditional
what would happen
yo
gustaría
tú
gustarías
él / ella / usted
gustaría
nosotros
gustaríamos
vosotros
gustaríais
ellos / ellas / ustedes
gustarían
Pretérito perfectoPresent perfect
haber + past participle: what has happened
yo
he gustado
tú
has gustado
él / ella / usted
ha gustado
nosotros
hemos gustado
vosotros
habéis gustado
ellos / ellas / ustedes
han gustado
Compound tenses of gustar
The helper verb is conjugated while gustar stays in one form: the participle gustado, the gerund gustando or the infinitive.
Pretérito pluscuamperfecto Past perfect
había gustado, habías gustado, había gustado, habíamos gustado, habíais gustado, habían gustado
voy a gustar, vas a gustar, va a gustar, vamos a gustar, vais a gustar, van a gustar
Gustar in the subjunctive
Presente de subjuntivoPresent subjunctive
after quiero que, espero que, cuando
yo
guste
tú
gustes
él / ella / usted
guste
nosotros
gustemos
vosotros
gustéis
ellos / ellas / ustedes
gusten
Imperfecto de subjuntivoImperfect subjunctive
after si and quería que
yo
gustara
tú
gustaras
él / ella / usted
gustara
nosotros
gustáramos
vosotros
gustarais
ellos / ellas / ustedes
gustaran
The imperfect subjunctive has a second, equally correct set of forms in -se; swap -ra for -se: gustara → gustase.
Gustar in the imperative
Imperativoaffirmative
telling someone to do it
tú
gusta
usted
guste
nosotros
gustemos
vosotros
gustad
ustedes
gusten
Imperativo negativonegative
telling someone not to: no + the subjunctive
tú
no gustes
usted
no guste
nosotros
no gustemos
vosotros
no gustéis
ustedes
no gusten
How gustar is conjugated
Every form of gustar is regular; what is unusual is the sentence around it. The thing liked is the subject, and the person who likes it is an indirect object: me, te, le, nos, os, les. So in practice you need two forms per tense: gusta for one thing or an infinitive, gustan for several things.
Conjugated the same way: encantar, interesar, importar, molestar.
Common mistakes with gustar
Yo gusto el café.→Me gusta el café.
Literally "coffee pleases me": the verb agrees with el café, not with yo.
Me gusta los gatos.→Me gustan los gatos.
A plural subject needs gustan. With one or several infinitives the verb stays singular: Me gusta leer y escribir.
Juan le gusta bailar.→A Juan le gusta bailar.
A named person is introduced with a, and the pronoun le still stays in place.
When to use gustar
The other persons exist but are rare: Me gustas means "I like you" and usually implies attraction. Encantar, interesar, importar, doler and faltar are built the same way: Me encanta, Me duele la cabeza.
Gustar in sentences
Me gusta el café. I like coffee.
¿Te gustan las películas de terror? Do you like horror films?
Nos gustó mucho la ciudad. We really liked the city.
De niño no me gustaba el pescado. As a child I didn't like fish.
Me gustaría un café, por favor. I'd like a coffee, please.
Practice the gustar conjugation
Practice gustar
Six quick questions on this verb: pick the right form. Nothing to sign up for, nothing is saved.
FAQ
Is gustar a regular or irregular verb?
Regular: every form of gustar follows the standard -ar pattern.
Tables: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and UniMorph, CC BY-SA 3.0, cross-checked on September 30, 2026. Notes on mistakes and the examples were written with the help of our model (AI); every form in the examples is matched against the chart, and the text was proofread separately. How we make it.