Gostar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Portuguese

gostar — to like — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Portuguese. It is a regular -ar verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. It means to like, and it always takes the preposition de before its object: gosto de café, not gosto café. It is completely regular: gosto, gostas, gosta, gostamos, gostais, gostam. Forgetting the de is the most common mistake learners make with this verb. On this page you will find gostar in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short texts that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself. The full conjugation tables are on the gostar conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the gostar present tense page.

Example sentences with gostar

In the present tense

  • “Eu gosto de café todos os dias.” — “I like coffee”
  • “Tu gostas de café todos os dias.” — “You like coffee”
  • “Ele gosta de café todos os dias.” — “He likes coffee”
  • “Nós gostamos de café todos os dias.” — “We like coffee”
  • “Vós gostais de café todos os dias.” — “You like coffee”
  • “Eles gostam de café todos os dias.” — “They like coffee”

In the pretérito perfeito

  • “Eu gostei de café ontem.” — “I liked coffee”
  • “Tu gostaste de café ontem.” — “You liked coffee”
  • “Ele gostou de café ontem.” — “He liked coffee”
  • “Nós gostámos de café ontem.” — “We liked coffee”
  • “Vós gostastes de café ontem.” — “You liked coffee”
  • “Eles gostaram de café ontem.” — “They liked coffee”

In other tenses

The same verb in the pretérito imperfeito, the futuro do presente, the futuro do pretérito, the presente do subjuntivo and the imperative — the tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.

  • “Eu gostava de café antigamente.” — “I used to like coffee”
  • “Tu gostarás de café amanhã.” — “You will like coffee”
  • “Ele gostaria de café um dia.” — “He would like coffee”
  • “É importante que nós gostemos de café.” — “It is important that we like coffee”
  • “Gosta de café!” — “Like coffee!”

How gostar is used

The first thing to know about gostar is its core meaning: to like. It means to like, and it always takes the preposition de before its object: gosto de café, not gosto café. It is completely regular: gosto, gostas, gosta, gostamos, gostais, gostam. Forgetting the de is the most common mistake learners make with this verb. In everyday speech it appears most often in the present and the pretérito perfeito, the two tenses on this page, because most of what we say is either what we do every day or what we have just done. Learn those two tenses first and the rest of the conjugation becomes a matter of adding forms one at a time. The second thing to know is the company gostar keeps. The present eu form is gosto, and it pairs naturally with the time words todos os dias and sempre for habits, and with agora for what is happening right now. The pretérito perfeito composto eu form is tenho gostado, and it pairs with ontem and esta semana for finished actions. When you learn a verb form, learn its time words with it, and choosing the tense becomes automatic. The third thing to know is what gostar does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after eu you need gosto, never gostar. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the pretérito perfeito composto is tenho gostado, built with ter, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle gostado is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Gostar in context

Eu gosto de café todos os dias. Tu gostas de café todos os dias. Ele gosta de café todos os dias. Nós gostamos de café todos os dias. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of gostar is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — gosto, gostas, gosta, gostamos — while the meaning stays the same: to like. Eu gostei de café ontem. Tu gostaste de café ontem. Ele gostou de café ontem. Nós gostámos de café ontem. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the pretérito perfeito of gostar appears constantly: a finished action, a precise moment, and the story goes on. Compare these sentences with the present ones above: the verb changes tense, but the basic meaning — to like — does not change. That is the difference between a habit and a finished event.

Common mistakes

1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Eu gostar de café.”

✓ Right: “Eu gosto de café todos os dias.”

The infinitive gostar never takes a subject. After eu you need the conjugated present form gosto.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Eu gostas de café.”

✓ Right: “Eu gosto de café todos os dias.”

gostas is the tu form, not the eu form. The eu form is gosto — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Eu gosto de café ontem.”

✓ Right: “Eu gostei de café ontem.”

Ontem points to the past, so use the pretérito perfeito gostei here, not the present gosto.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Eu sou gostado de café.”

✓ Right: “Eu tenho gostado de café esta semana.”

gostar takes ter in the pretérito perfeito composto. The eu form is tenho gostado — the other auxiliary never belongs with this verb.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on gostar across the tenses. Answers with explanations follow each question.

  1. What is the tu form of gostar in the Present indicative (presente)?

    • A) gosto
    • B) gostas
    • C) gosta
    • D) gostamos

  2. What is the eu form of gostar in the Pretérito perfeito composto?

    • A) tens gostado
    • B) tem gostado
    • C) tenho gostado
    • D) temos gostado

  3. What is the ele/ela form of gostar in the Pretérito imperfeito?

    • A) gostavas
    • B) gostávamos
    • C) gostáveis
    • D) gostava

  4. What is the nós form of gostar in the Futuro do presente?

    • A) gostaremos
    • B) gostarei
    • C) gostarás
    • D) gostará

  5. What is the tu form of gostar in the Futuro do pretérito?

    • A) gostaria
    • B) gostarias
    • C) gostaríamos
    • D) gostaríeis

  6. What is the eu form of gostar in the Pretérito mais-que-perfeito simples?

    • A) gostaras
    • B) gostáramos
    • C) gostara
    • D) gostáreis

  7. What is the nós form of gostar in the Presente do subjuntivo?

    • A) goste
    • B) gostes
    • C) gosteis
    • D) gostemos

  8. What is the gerund of gostar?

    • A) gostando
    • B) gostado
    • C) gostar
    • D) gosto

  9. What is the past participle of gostar?

    • A) gostando
    • B) gostado
    • C) gostar
    • D) gosto

  10. What does gostar mean in English?

  • A) to be
  • B) to have
  • C) to like
  • D) —

Answer key

  1. B) gostas — the correct form is gostas. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) tenho gostado — the correct form is tenho gostado. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) gostava — the correct form is gostava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) gostaremos — the correct form is gostaremos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) gostarias — the correct form is gostarias. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) gostara — the correct form is gostara. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) gostemos — the correct form is gostemos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) gostando — the correct form is gostando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) gostado — the correct form is gostado. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to like — the correct form is to like. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does gostar mean in English?

gostar means “to like”. You use it whenever you talk about to like in Portuguese, in the present, the past and the future.

Is gostar regular or irregular?

gostar is regular. gostar is regular: every form follows the standard -ar endings, so once you know the pattern you can build every tense from the stem.

What are the gerund and past participle of gostar?

The gerund is gostando and the past participle is gostado. The perfect tenses use ter + gostado.

Where can I see the full conjugation of gostar?

On the gostar conjugation page — every tense, every person, with tables. The gostar present tense page goes deeper into its most practised tense.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for gostar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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