Learn the key pattern to talk about your hobbies
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| Let’s take a closer look at the conversation. |
| Do you remember how Adolfo Gonzalez Borrego asks, |
| "What's your hobby?" |
| ¿Cuál es tu pasatiempo? |
| Let’s start with pasatiempo, “hobby”. Pasatiempo (enunciated). Pasatiempo. |
| Can you see the resemblance to the English word “pastime?” |
| Pasatiempo is masculine and singular. |
| Before pasatiempo is tu,“your.” Tu (enunciated). Tu. |
| Notice this word doesn't have an accent mark. This helps distinguish it from a very similar word: the pronoun tú, “you.” |
| Together, tu pasatiempo, “your hobby.” Tu pasatiempo. |
| Moving to the start of the sentence, cuál, literally meaning “which,” but it translates as “what” in this context. Cuál (enunciated). Cuál. |
| Next is es, “is”. Es (enunciated). Es. |
| Es is from the verb ser, meaning “to be”. Ser. |
| All together, it is ¿Cuál es tu pasatiempo? This literally means "Which is your hobby?" But it translates as "What's your hobby?" |
| ¿Cuál es tu pasatiempo? |
| Note: ¿Cuál es…? Literally, “Which is,” but can translate as “What is…?” depending on context is used for questions that have more than one possible answer. For example, there are many answers to the question: What is your hobby? Therefore, ¿Cuál es…? is used. |
| Remember that questions in Spanish need an opening question mark. |
| Let’s take a closer look at the response. |
| Do you remember how Lucas Hurtado says, |
| "I like fishing." |
| Me gusta pescar. |
| First is me gusta, “I like.” Me gusta. |
| It starts with the pronoun me, which translates as “for me” in this context. Me (enunciated). Me. |
| Next is gusta, “[it] is pleasant.” Gusta (enunciated). Gusta. |
| Gusta is from the verb gustar, meaning “to be pleasant”. Gustar. |
| Together it's me gusta, "for me [it] is pleasant," but translates as "I like.” Me gusta. |
| Next is pescar, literally "to fish," but it translates as "fishing." Pescar (enunciated). Pescar. |
| All together it's Me gusta pescar. literally "for me [it] is pleasant fishing," but it translates as "I like fishing." |
| ¿Cuál es tu pasatiempo? |
| The pattern is |
| Me gusta ACTIVITY. |
| I like ACTIVITY. |
| Me gusta ACTIVITY. |
| To use this pattern, simply replace the {ACTIVITY} placeholder with an activity you like doing. |
| Note: this pattern requires a verb that must be placed in the infinitive, or, in other words, the dictionary form. |
| Imagine you like reading, leer. Leer (enunciated). Leer. |
| Say |
| "I like reading." |
| Ready? |
| Me gusta leer. |
| "I like reading." |
| Me gusta leer. |
| This lesson focuses on the pattern: |
| Me gusta ACTIVITY. |
| However, Me gusta can also be used with nouns when talking about something you like. |
| Me gusta HOBBY. |
| Note: in this case, the corresponding definite article is included with the noun. |
| For masculine nouns, el. |
| For feminine nouns, la. |
| For example, |
| Me gusta el fútbol. “I like soccer.” |
| Me gusta la música. “I like music.” |
| You should be aware of this pattern, but you won’t need it for this lesson. |
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