Should I use imperfect subjunctive here?
If I want to say "it was not something that I liked", should I say "no era algo que me gustara"?
I had assumed that this is an adjective clause and I should use the subjunctive, but I am not entirely sure.
Also, does this sound weird? Would it better just to say "no me gustó"?
Gracias!
6 Answers
"Gustara" is perfect in this context, because I assume you are not trying to say that there is something you liked, so subjunctive makes perfect sense, and the sentence sounds very natural.
Using indicative instead ("gustaba") would imply that apart of saying that you didn't like that thing, there is actually another one that you do actually like ("algo que me gustaba" = "me gustaba algo"), and you want others to know that, hence indicative. With subjunctive, you are not providing any information on whether there is something else you like instead or not; you are just commenting on your dislike for this thing with subjunctive, whereas in indicative, you are stating that you do like something, but obviously not the object mentioned in the main sentence, since it is a negative one. Both options are correct.
As a Spanish learner too (so I could be wrong here) I would just simply say....
no me gustó.
I agree with shameless, perfect choice , elefantita. Good job 
no era algo que me gustara
Actually this is perfectly acceptable! It is correct to use subjunctive there and you need the imperfect because your "ruling" verb is in the past. Therefore: "no es algo que me guste" is okay, "no era algo que me gustara" is okay as well.
Of course, "no me gustaba" as Feliz mentioned, is okay as well. I would say that "no me gustó" is a little bit different, much more specific.
No era algo que a mí me gustara is ok.
Many people are not using the past subjunctive but it seems it's incorrect. Who knows, within some decades it will become acceptable to use the present subjunctive.
Hello Elefantina,
Welcome to our Spanishdict community forum
You asked:
Should I use imperfect subjunctive here? If I want to say "it was not something that I liked", should I say "no era algo que me gustara"? I had assumed that this is an adjective clause and I should use the subjunctive, but I am not entirely sure. Also, does this sound weird? Would it better just to say "no me gustó"?Gracias!
I like Billy's answer which is correct in itself, and although it is not a full translation of your sentence it makes the point clearly enough! 
Con una correccion:
I think that you could also say: No fue algo que me gustara = It was not something that I liked! This sentence needs the imperfect subjunctive
Another option would be to say: No era algo que me gustaba using the imperfect indicative but as Shameless has commented the sentence with the imperfect is better!
Or even more simply: No me gustaba = I didn't like it
Please remember that this a translation into Spanish of a kind of expression that we would happily use in English. The Spanish way of thinking is considerably different from English and this is reflected in the fact that they would not necessarily phrase it in the same way.
I don't think that you need the subjunctive here, I have used the imperfect indicative tense, but I could be mistaken as I am not a native Spanish speaker so you may wish to wait for confirmation
I hope this helps
Corrijan mi español si es necesario, por favor
