Gustar (to please) · Preterite
By TutorLily Editorial Team · Last updated
Gustar in the Spanish preterite (pretérito indefinido) is: yo gusté, tú gustaste, él/ella/usted gustó, nosotros/as gustamos, vosotros/as gustasteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes gustaron. The preterite of gustar describes a completed past act of liking — usually a specific reaction: 'me gustó la película' = 'I liked the movie' (after watching it). In practice, gustó (singular) and gustaron (plural) cover almost all real usage.
| To Like | Gustar |
|---|---|
| I liked | yo gusté |
| you liked | tú gustaste |
| he/she liked | él/ella/usted gustó |
| we liked | nosotros/as gustamos |
| you liked | vosotros/as gustasteis |
| they liked | ellos/ellas/ustedes gustaron |
Gustar (to please) in context
Sentences that use gustar in the preterite. Tap each to hear it.
The jury liked me and I got the role. (lit. I pleased the jury...)
I liked you from the first moment. (lit. You pleased me...)
I really liked the movie.
The audience really liked us last night.
The contest jury liked you.
I really liked the gifts.
Working with the preterite
The preterite describes a finished past action with a clear boundary — "ayer comí pizza" (yesterday I ate pizza). The key contrast is with the imperfect, which describes ongoing or repeated past actions without a defined endpoint. If you can substitute "used to" or "was doing" in English, you usually want the imperfect; if the action is one-and-done, you want the preterite. The irregular preterites (fui, hice, dije, tuve, vine, supe) are the highest-frequency in Spanish — front-load them.
Frequently asked questions
How do you conjugate gustar in the preterite?
When should I use 'me gustó' vs 'me gustaba'?
How does 'gustar' work in the past in conversation?
Practice Gustar (To Please) in real conversations
TutorLily is your personal language tutor that catches every mistake gently and keeps the conversation going.
3-day free trial · Cancel anytime · 50+ languages
More tenses of Gustar (To Please)
Get the app