juntosSpanish Gustar & Opinions: me gusta, me encanta, creo que, saying what you think
Three lessons on the backwards verb that trips up every English speaker, its whole family, and the language for stating and defending a view.
| Who likes it | One thing or an action | Plural things |
|---|---|---|
| I | me gusta el café | me gustan los tacos |
| you (tú) | te gusta cocinar | te gustan las películas |
| he, she, you (usted) | le gusta la música | le gustan los perros |
| we | nos gusta viajar | nos gustan las playas |
| they, you all (ustedes) | les gusta el fútbol | les gustan los conciertos |
| Negative | no me gusta el frío | no me gustan las arañas |
| For emphasis or clarity | a ella le gusta el té | a mí me gustan los gatos |
Gustar does not mean "to like". It means "to be pleasing to", and that flips the whole sentence: the thing you like is the subject, and you are the indirect object. Me gusta el café is literally "coffee is pleasing to me"; me gustan los tacos is plural because the tacos are. The same pattern runs a whole family of verbs: encantar (to love), interesar, molestar, doler (to hurt), faltar, parecer: and once you see the pattern, me duele la cabeza and me parece bien stop being exceptions.
The classic errors are "me gusto" (which means "I like myself"), "yo gusto", and singular gusta with a plural thing. The subtler one is forgetting a before the person for emphasis or clarity: a mí me gusta, a ella le gusta: which is how Spanish speakers contrast opinions. And the moment you move from liking to thinking (creo que, me parece que, en mi opinión), a new rule appears: a negated opinion takes the subjunctive, so it is no creo que sea, not no creo que es.
The three lessons below teach the mechanism, the family and the opinion phrases, each with exercises. The AI tutor is where opinions get exercised for real: the friendly debate scenario, the fútbol bar and the first date are built around saying what you think and reacting to what you hear, and every message is scored 0–100 with corrections. Gustar slips are tracked in your Error Bank and come back in spaced-repetition reviews until me gustan comes out right without a pause.
What's in this course
- How gustar really works, It's 'X pleases me', not 'I like X'
- The gustar family, encantar, interesar, molestar, parecer
- Giving your opinion, creo que, para mí, estoy de acuerdo
Each lesson below is the same material used inside the Juntos app, with two of its exercises to try. In the app every lesson has the full exercise set, and the AI tutor grades your conversation practice against what you have learned.
Lesson 1: How gustar really works
It's 'X pleases me', not 'I like X'
Backwards but beautiful 🔄
Me gusta el café literally means "coffee pleases me", so the verb agrees with the thing, not with you:
- One thing / an activity → gusta: Me gusta la playa. Me gusta viajar.
- Plural things → gustan: Me gustan las pupusas.
| to me | to you | to him/her | to us | to them |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| me gusta(n) | te gusta(n) | le gusta(n) | nos gusta(n) | les gusta(n) |
Try it
Me ___ mucho las playas de El Salvador.
I really like El Salvador's beaches.
- gusta
- gustan
- gusto
Show answer
gustan · las playas (plural) → gustan.
¿Te ___ (gustar) viajar solo?
Do you like travelling alone?
Show answer
gusta · An activity (infinitive) counts as singular → gusta.
Lesson 2: The gustar family
encantar, interesar, molestar, parecer
Gustar's cousins 👨👩👧👦
Same backwards mechanics, more shades of feeling:
- me encanta: I love. ¡Me encanta este lugar!
- me interesa: it interests me · me importa: it matters to me
- me molesta: it bothers me. Me molesta el ruido.
- me duele: it hurts. Me duele la cabeza. (watch this one for the pharmacy!)
- me parece: it seems to me. Me parece caro.
Try it
¡Me ___ las pupusas! (I LOVE them)
- encanta
- encantan
- gustan mucho mucho
Show answer
encantan · Plural pupusas → encantan.
Me ___ (doler) la cabeza, ¿hay una farmacia cerca?
My head hurts, is there a pharmacy nearby?
Show answer
duele · doler o→ue → duele. La cabeza is singular.
Lesson 3: Giving your opinion
creo que, para mí, estoy de acuerdo
Enter the debate 🗣️
- Creo que… / Pienso que… I think that…
- Para mí,… for me / in my view · En mi opinión,…
- (No) estoy de acuerdo (contigo): I (dis)agree (with you)
- Tienes razón: you're right · Depende: it depends
- ¿Tú qué opinas? what do you think?
Try it
___ que el español es más fácil que el inglés.
I think Spanish is easier than English.
- Creo
- Creo de
- Me creo
Show answer
Creo · creo que + clause.
'I agree with you' =
- Estoy acuerdo contigo
- Estoy de acuerdo contigo
- Soy de acuerdo contigo
Show answer
Estoy de acuerdo contigo · estar DE acuerdo, don't drop the de.
This course is free. Want it graded in conversation?
Gustar & Opinions is free on Juntos, with the games and your Error Bank. Start a 7-day trial to add the AI tutor that grades every sentence you write or say, voice calls and the 12-track program. Then $8/month, no card to start.
Questions people ask
Why is it 'me gustan los tacos' and not 'me gusta los tacos'?
Because los tacos is the subject of the sentence (literally 'the tacos are pleasing to me'), and a plural subject needs a plural verb: gustan. With one thing or an action, it is gusta: me gusta la comida mexicana, me gusta comer.
What's the difference between 'me gusta' and 'me gusto'?
Me gusta means 'I like it' (it pleases me). Me gusto means 'I like myself', because the yo form makes you the thing being liked.
How do you say 'I like you' in Spanish?
Me gustas, literally 'you are pleasing to me'. It usually signals attraction; for a friend or colleague say me caes bien (I like you as a person), and for close friends and family, te quiero.
Is it 'le gusta' or 'les gusta'?
It depends on who does the liking, not on the thing liked. Le gusta for one person (a mi papá le gusta el béisbol), les gusta for more than one (a mis amigos les gusta el béisbol). Gusta or gustan then agrees with the thing.
What other verbs work like gustar?
Encantar (me encanta, I love it), interesar, molestar, importar, doler (me duele la cabeza), faltar and parecer (me parece bien). They all put the person in the me, te, le slot and agree with the thing.
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