gusta / gustas
I understand that - Qué te gusta hacer? - means - What do you like? - in English. My question is, why is it "gusta" and not "gustas", when the subject is "you"? Or can you change the "te gusta" to "gustas" and have have it mean the same thing? Thanks
2 Answers
Welcome to the forum. This question is asked a lot, and if you use the forum search feature you'll find a lot of answers. Basically it's because gustar doesn't mean to like, it means to please. The subject is not you, it's what. You is the indirect object.
¿Qué te gusta hacer? = What is pleasing for you to do?
...why is it "gusta" and not "gustas", when the subject is "you"?
Because the subject is not "you", but "hacer qué"!!! The sentence is literally closer to "what is it pleasing for you to do".
Or can you change the "te gusta" to "gustas" and have have it mean the same thing?
If they were the same, why having two forms? It is the same as in "disgust" and "disgusts", where the pattern is inverted, and they cannot be interchanged:
You disgust me (you can't say "disgusts")
She disgusts me (you can't say "disgust")
Of course, you don't say "I disgust you" to mean "I dislike you". The verb "disgust" is used EXACTLY like "gustar" in Spanish. Notice that cunning similarity between dis-gust and gust-ar, because it is not a coincidence.
