Gostar + de
Today we are going to learn about how to use Gostar.
The regular verb, gostar, has a special rule attached to it. It is always followed by the proposition, de. Always.
What is de? De = of, by, and from.
One of the differences between English and Portuguese is that, in Portuguese, a preposition can stand in for multiple meanings.
De following gostar means of. So, to like of something.
Here are some examples of nonspecific items:
She likes apples.
I like bananas.
You like oranges.
Ela gosta de maçãs.
Eu gosto de bananas.
Você gosta de laranjas.
Now when we want to say we like a specific item(s) (the apple, the strawberry) we run into contractions.
*Remember, if you take a look at the form cards you will notice:
- the apple = a maçã
- the apples = as maçãs
- the strawberry = o morango
- the strawberries = os morangos
Here are the rules for the contractions:
de + a
de + o
de + as
de + os
da
do
das
dos
So here are some examples of specific items:
I like the apple.
(Eu) gosto de + a maçã.
Eu gosto da maçã.
I like the apples.
(Eu) gosto de + as maçãs.
Eu gosto das maçãs.
I like the strawberry.
(Eu) gosto de + o morango.
Eu gosto do morango.
I like the strawberries.
(Eu) gosto de + os morangos
Eu gosto dos morangos.
