This deep dive covers Expresar opiniones — Gustar-type Verbs and Frequency within Free time + hobbies for GCSE Spanish. Revise Free time + hobbies in Theme 2 — Popular Culture for GCSE Spanish with 13 exam-style questions and 15 flashcards. Use this page as part of a wider topic revision path rather than treating it as an isolated fact. It is section 2 of 4 in this topic. Use this deep dive to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
🔍 Expresar opiniones — Gustar-type Verbs and Frequency
To talk about what you like or dislike doing in your free time, you need gustar-type verbs. These work back-to-front compared to English: the grammatical subject is the thing liked, and the verb agrees with that thing — not with the person.
Verbos tipo gustar
| Verb | Meaning | With singular noun / infinitive | With plural noun |
|---|---|---|---|
| gustar | to like | me gusta leer | me gustan los deportes |
| encantar | to love | me encanta el cine | me encantan las películas |
| interesar | to interest | me interesa el arte | me interesan las ciencias |
| aburrir | to bore | me aburre el golf | me aburren los concursos |
| molestar | to annoy | me molesta la televisión | me molestan los videojuegos |
Adverbios de frecuencia — Frequency Scale
| Adverb | Meaning | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|
| siempre | always | Siempre escucho música por la tarde. |
| a menudo | often | A menudo voy al cine con mis amigos. |
| con frecuencia | frequently | Hago deporte con frecuencia. |
| a veces | sometimes | A veces juego a los videojuegos. |
| de vez en cuando | from time to time | Juego al tenis de vez en cuando. |
| casi nunca | hardly ever | Casi nunca leo revistas. |
| nunca | never | Nunca hago yoga porque me aburre. |
⭐ The most common gustar error at GCSE
With gustar, encantar, aburrir, and all similar verbs, the verb agrees with what is liked — not who likes it. Me gustan LOS deportes (plural noun → plural verb) but me gusta EL deporte (singular noun → singular verb). Many students write me gustan for everything — do not fall into this trap. An infinitive always takes the singular: me gusta jugar al fútbol.