Gustos, habilidades y tiempo libre
Chapter Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
- Talk about interests and free-time activities using common leisure vocabulary.
- Use gustar with indirect object pronouns to say what you and others like.
- Use querer and poder to express wants and abilities, and to make and respond to invitations.
- Distinguish saber from conocer when talking about knowledge, skills, and familiarity.
- Extend, accept, and politely decline an invitation.
Communication Scenario
Elena is still visiting Marisol and Diego, and the three of them are planning what to do this weekend. Elena wants to know what her cousin and Diego like to do in their free time, and she also wants to invite them to a few activities before she goes home.
- You will talk about what you and others like using gustar.
- You will make plans using querer, poder, and invitation language.
Core Vocabulary
The vocabulary below is new productive material for this chapter. It builds on the routine and free-time references recycled since Chapter 7.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| el cine, el teatro, el concierto | the movies, the theater, the concert |
| el fútbol, el básquetbol, la natación | soccer, basketball, swimming |
| la música, el baile, la pintura | music, dance, painting |
| los videojuegos, las redes sociales | video games, social media |
| salir con amigos, hacer ejercicio | to go out with friends, to exercise |
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| gustar, encantar, interesar | to like/please, to love/delight, to interest |
| querer, poder | to want, to be able to/can |
| saber, conocer | to know (facts/skills), to know (people/places) |
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| ¿Quieres...?, ¿Te gustaría...? | Do you want...?, Would you like...? |
| Claro que sí, Me encantaría | Of course, I would love to |
| Lo siento, no puedo | I'm sorry, I can't |
| Tal vez otro día | Maybe another day |
Salir and hacer are recycled from earlier chapters in new combinations. All other items above are new productive material.
Pronunciation and Orthography Focus
The forms gusta and gustan both carry natural stress on the first syllable; neither requires a written accent.
- Interesa and interesan follow the same default stress pattern for words ending in a vowel or -n.
- ¿Quieres...? and ¿Te gustaría...? rise in pitch toward the end when spoken as genuine invitations, and both require the opening inverted question mark in writing.
- Gustaría carries a written accent on the í because stress falls on a syllable that the default pattern would not predict for a word ending in a vowel.
- Link te gustaría smoothly as one breath group rather than pausing between words.
Grammar: Gustar, Querer, Poder, and Saber/Conocer
Purpose: give learners the tools to talk about likes and interests, express wants and abilities, and choose correctly between two different Spanish verbs that both correspond to English "to know."
9.1 Gustar and indirect object pronouns
Use gusta when one thing or one activity is liked, and gustan when more than one thing is liked. Add a + name or a + pronoun (a Diego, a mí) only to clarify or emphasize who is doing the liking.
- ¿Te gusta bailar? Do you like to dance?
- Nos gustan los conciertos, pero no nos gusta el teatro. We like concerts, but we don't like theater.
Encantar and interesar follow the identical pattern as gustar and may be used the same way for stronger or more specific reactions.
9.2 Querer and poder
- Queremos ver una película, pero no podemos hoy. We want to watch a movie, but we can't today.
- ¿Quieres jugar básquetbol el sábado? Do you want to play basketball on Saturday?
9.3 Saber versus conocer
Use saber + infinitive to talk about a skill: sé bailar, sabe nadar. Use conocer with a person or place, and remember to add personal a before a known person: conozco a Marisol.
This chapter introduces personal a only as part of the fixed pattern conocer a + person. A fuller treatment of personal a is scheduled for later chapters.
9.4 Making, accepting, and declining invitations
- ¿Te gustaría ir al cine conmigo? Would you like to go to the movies with me?
- Claro que sí, me encantaría. / Lo siento, no puedo, pero tal vez otro día. Of course, I would love to. / I'm sorry, I can't, but maybe another day.
Model Dialogue: ¿Quieres salir este fin de semana?
Context: Elena, Marisol, and Diego are talking about plans for the weekend.
Marisol smiles and looks at Elena.
Notice how the dialogue moves from talking about likes with gustar, to knowledge and familiarity with saber and conocer, to an invitation with querer and poder — the same sequence used in this chapter's tasks.
Listening Practice
If no audio recording is available, ask a partner, instructor, or text-to-speech tool to read the script below aloud, or read it aloud to yourself slowly.
- Listen for what Sofía likes and is interested in.
- Listen for what Sofía knows how to do.
- Listen for why Rafael cannot go to the park.
Speaking Practice
Práctica controlada — Controlled practice: Mis gustos
Say four sentences about your own interests, using me gusta/me gustan for two of them and me interesa/me encanta for the other two.
Tarea comunicativa — Communicative task: Una invitación
With a partner, invite each other to two different activities using ¿Quieres...? or ¿Te gustaría...? One invitation should be accepted and one should be politely declined.
Práctica independiente — Solo alternative
Record or say aloud a short description of what you like to do, what you know how to do, and one activity you want to do this weekend if you can.
Reading Practice
Los gustos de Camila — Camila's interests
Me llamo Camila y vivo en un apartamento pequeño con mi hermana. Nos gusta mucho el cine, y también nos interesan los videojuegos. Sabemos jugar varios juegos diferentes, y conocemos a muchas personas que juegan también. Los sábados nos gusta salir con amigos o quedarnos en casa para ver una película. Este fin de semana quiero ir a un concierto, pero mi hermana no puede porque tiene que trabajar. Le gustaría venir, pero tal vez puede ir la próxima semana.
Tarea de lectura — Reading task:
- What do Camila and her sister like and what are they interested in?
- What do Camila and her sister know how to do?
- Why can't Camila's sister go to the concert this weekend?
Writing Workshop
Complete the following linked writing tasks in order. Together they form your written description of your interests and a weekend invitation for this project.
Tarea 1 — Mis gustos: Write four short sentences using gustar, encantar, or interesar to describe your interests.
Tarea 2 — Completar la invitación: Fill in the blanks below to build a short invitation exchange.
Tarea 3 — Descripción completa: Combine your sentences from Tareas 1 and 2 into one short paragraph of five to seven sentences describing your interests and inviting a friend to an activity, including at least one use of saber or conocer.
- Write your four interest sentences first. This reviews gustar and related verbs.
- Complete the fill-in-the-blank invitation. Check that querer and poder are conjugated correctly.
- Combine your sentences into one paragraph. Add at least one use of saber or conocer.
- Read your paragraph aloud once. Listen for correct stress in gusta/gustan and smooth linking in te gustaría.
- Check every accent mark, capitalization choice, and verb agreement. Confirm that gustar agrees with the thing liked, not with the person.
Lista de revisión — Editing checklist:
- Every use of gustar agrees in number with the thing or activity liked.
- Indirect object pronouns (me, te, le, nos, les) appear before gustar and related verbs.
- Querer and poder show the correct stem change in every form except nosotros.
- Saber is used for facts and skills; conocer is used for people and places.
- Personal a appears before a known person after conocer.
- No vocabulary or grammar from outside Chapters 1–9 has been used.
Culture and Communication
Free-time activities and how people spend weekends vary widely across Spanish-speaking communities and depend on climate, city size, family structure, and personal preference. Public parks, plazas, and community sports fields are common gathering places in many cities, but the specific activities people choose differ from person to person and place to place.
Some regions use el fútbol universally for soccer, while a few speakers of U.S. Spanish may use el soccer to distinguish it from American football. Similarly, los videojuegos is broadly understood, though some speakers also use borrowed English terms informally. This course uses el fútbol and los videojuegos as the core productive forms.
Common Mistakes
Error: Saying Yo gusto el fútbol as if the person who likes something is the subject of gustar.
Correction: The thing liked is the subject, and the person is expressed with an indirect object pronoun: Me gusta el fútbol.
Error: Saying Me gusta los videojuegos when the thing liked is plural.
Correction: Gustar must agree with the plural noun: Me gustan los videojuegos.
Error: Saying Sé a Diego to mean "I know Diego."
Correction: Use conocer for familiarity with a person, with personal a: Conozco a Diego. Reserve saber for facts and skills: Sé jugar fútbol.
Chapter Review
Parte A — Comprensión (Comprehension)
1. Return to the Model Dialogue, and answer these short questions.
- What does Marisol like, and what does Diego find more interesting?
- Why can't Diego go to the concert on Saturday?
Parte B — Escritura (Writing)
1. Conjugate querer and poder in the yo, tú, and nosotros forms.
2. Write one sentence with gustar and one sentence contrasting saber and conocer.
Parte C — Lectura (Reading)
1. Return to "Los gustos de Camila," and list what Camila and her sister like, know how to do, and want to do.
Parte D — Habla (Speaking)
1. Invite a partner to an activity, then respond to your partner's invitation, accepting or declining politely.
Practical Performance Task
Chapter 9 Practical Check
Hablar de mis gustos e invitar a un amigo — Talking about my interests and inviting a friend
Complete the following connected tasks, in order, to describe your interests and manage a realistic invitation.
- Read the model dialogue and the reading passage. Answer the comprehension questions above before continuing.
- Say your interests aloud. Include at least three activities using gustar, encantar, or interesar.
- Talk about what you know how to do and who or what you are familiar with. Use at least one sentence with saber and one with conocer.
- Extend and respond to an invitation aloud using querer and poder.
- Write your full interests and invitation paragraph. Apply the editing checklist from the Writing Workshop.
| Criterion | What is assessed |
|---|---|
| Gustar agreement | The learner selects gusta or gustan correctly and uses the matching indirect object pronoun. |
| Querer/poder accuracy | The learner conjugates querer and poder correctly, including the stem change. |
| Saber versus conocer | The learner selects saber for facts and skills and conocer for people and places, including personal a. |
| Invitation language | The learner extends, accepts, and declines an invitation appropriately and politely. |
| Vocabulary control | The learner uses chapter vocabulary for free-time activities and interests appropriately. |
| Orthography and pronunciation | The learner places accent marks correctly, including in gustaría, and produces question intonation for invitations. |
This checkpoint uses material introduced through Chapter 9. No item on this rubric requires a system that has not yet been taught.
Answer Key
Model Dialogue — Comprehension
- Marisol likes music and concerts in the park (le gusta la música); Diego is more interested in soccer (le interesa más el fútbol).
- Diego cannot go on Saturday because he has to work (tiene que trabajar).
Escritura
- querer: quiero, quieres, queremos. poder: puedo, puedes, podemos.
- Sample answers: Me gusta el cine. / Sé jugar fútbol, pero no conozco a muchos jugadores. (Other accurate sentences are acceptable.)
Lectura
- Camila and her sister like the movies and are interested in video games; they know how to play several different games; Camila's sister cannot go to the concert this weekend because she has to work.
Looking Ahead
Lo que ya sabes hacer — What you can do now
You can talk about your interests using gustar and related verbs; express wants and abilities with querer and poder; distinguish saber from conocer; and make, accept, and decline invitations.