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Gustar is one of the "back to front" verbs in Spanish. It means "to like" but unless you use it correctly you might say something totally different from what you mean.
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I like you
I like it
I like her
I like him
I like them
I don't like them
Do you like them?
We like this place
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Me gustas Not: Te gusto
Me gusta
Me gusta
Me gusta
Me gustan
No me gustan
¿Te gustan?
Nos gusta esté sitio
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The "back to front" verbs usually
express an emotional response to something. If you get confused with "gustar", try to considerer it like "to be pleasing
to"
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To me - you are pleasing
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Me gustas
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Position of the words is quite flexible and the thing that is liked can come before or after
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I like Sarah
I like her
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Sarah me gusta or me gusta Sarah
Ella me gusta or me gusta ella.
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Making the 3rd person clear: If you say "le gusta el chocolate" it is not clear if you mean "she likes chocolate" or "he likes chocolate". To make it clearer, you can add "a ella" or "a él" either before or after.
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He likes brandy
She likes beer
I think that Juan likes MarÃa
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A él le gusta el cognac
A ella le gusta la cerveza.
Creo que a Juan le gusta MarÃa
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Here are a few more examples of "back to front verbs", but easier to get around with.
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Molestar
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To bother
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¿Te molesta si fumo?
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Does it bother you if I smoke?
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Horrorizar
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To horrify, to appall
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Me horroriza lo mal que se portan esos niños
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I'm appalled at how badly those children behave
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Hacer gracia
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To be funny to someone
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Me hace gracia que digas eso
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It's funny you should say that
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Caer bien/mal
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To get on well/badly with
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Tus primos me caen muy bien
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get on very well with your cousins
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Doler
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To hurt
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Me duele la cabeza
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I've got a headache
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Importar
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To mind, to care about
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¿A ti qué te importa?
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What's it to you?
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Encantar
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To like very much, instead of "me gusta muchissimo"
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Me encanta.
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I really like it
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Interesar
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To be interested in
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No me interesa la polÃtica en absoluto
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I am not interested in politics at all
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Hacer falta
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To need for a purpose, to be necessary
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No hace falta que escribas una carta larga
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It's not necessary to write a long letter
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