I can say what I love and what I can't stand, ask about the other person's likes, and keep the preposition “de”, including where it joins the article.
Gosto de …: saying what you like
Gosto de …: saying what you like
To talk about what you like, you need the verb gostar — and its preposition.
As in English, the person is the subject: “Eu gosto de música”, “I like music”. The verb changes by person: gosto, gostas, gosta, gostamos, gostam.
Unlike English “like”, gostar always takes de, and it never drops: “gosto de cinema”, “gostas de ler?”. If an article follows, they join: de + o = do, de + a = da, de + as = das, de + os = dos.
How strong the feeling is: “Gosto muito de viajar” — I really like traveling; “Não gosto nada de televisão” — I don't like TV at all: learn this phrase as a whole, with both não and nada. The verbs adorar and detestar take no preposition: “Adoro passear”, “Detesto futebol”.
Three common verbs — ver, ler, and ouvir — are irregular only in the eu form: vejo, leio, ouço. The full table is alongside.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “Gosto o teatro” → “Gosto do teatro”.
• NOT “Gosto ler” → “Gosto de ler”: the de never drops.
• NOT “Gosto de o teatro” → “Gosto do teatro”.
• NOT “Adoro de viajar” → “Adoro viajar”.
Gostar and its preposition
The subject is the person: “Eu gosto de …”, as in English “I like …”.
| What you like | How to build it | Example |
|---|---|---|
| in general | gostar de + word | gosto de música |
| something specific | gostar do, da, das, dos | gosto do concerto |
| doing something | gostar de + infinitive | gosto de passear |
Three common verbs
Only the eu form is unusual: vejo, leio, ouço.
| Who | ver | ler | ouvir |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu | vejo | leio | ouço |
| tu | vês | lês | ouves |
| ele, ela, você | vê | lê | ouve |
| nós | vemos | lemos | ouvimos |
| eles, elas, vocês | veem | leem | ouvem |
Lesson notes
Gosto de …: saying what you like
To talk about what you like, you need the verb gostar — and its preposition.
As in English, the person is the subject: “Eu gosto de música”, “I like music”. The verb changes by person: gosto, gostas, gosta, gostamos, gostam.
Unlike English “like”, gostar always takes de, and it never drops: “gosto de cinema”, “gostas de ler?”. If an article follows, they join: de + o = do, de + a = da, de + as = das, de + os = dos.
How strong the feeling is: “Gosto muito de viajar” — I really like traveling; “Não gosto nada de televisão” — I don't like TV at all: learn this phrase as a whole, with both não and nada. The verbs adorar and detestar take no preposition: “Adoro passear”, “Detesto futebol”.
Three common verbs — ver, ler, and ouvir — are irregular only in the eu form: vejo, leio, ouço. The full table is alongside.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “Gosto o teatro” → “Gosto do teatro”.
• NOT “Gosto ler” → “Gosto de ler”: the de never drops.
• NOT “Gosto de o teatro” → “Gosto do teatro”.
• NOT “Adoro de viajar” → “Adoro viajar”.