CCEA GCSE Spanish · Grammar spine 4 of 10 — Plans and opinions
Mini-Lesson
Plans & opinions
Once you can say what you do, you need to say what you're going to do and what you think. This lesson builds the tools of ambition and opinion: the near future (ir a + infinitive), the modal verbs, the tricky gustar family, the polite me gustaría, and the opinion phrases examiners love.
Make a guess: what comes after «voy a»?
Mission 1What comes after «voy a»?
Mission 2Why does «gusta» become «gustan»?
Mission 3How do you say "would like" in Spanish?
Work through each screen and answer the questions as you go — some ask you to recognise the right form, some ask you to produce it by typing. Collect ⭐ stars and press Start.
The near future · ir a + infinitive
Saying what you're going to do
The easiest way to talk about the future is exactly like English "going to": take the verb ir (to go) + a + an infinitive. It also translates plain "will".
ir + a + infinitivevoy a estudiar = I'm going to study / I will study
ir — to go (recap)
person
form
yo
voy
tú
vas
él / ella / usted
va
nosotros
vamos
vosotros
vais
ellos / ustedes
van
Voy a estudiar esta noche. — I 'm going to study tonight.
Vamos a viajar a España. — We 're going to travel to Spain.
Time markers that signal the future: mañana (tomorrow), la próxima semana (next week), el año que viene (next year), este fin de semana (this weekend).
Quick check
What follows voy a?
?You want to say "I'm going to study". Choose: Voy a ____
Type it
Your turn — the near future
1Translate "I'm going to eat" into Spanish. Three words.
Hint: ir in the "I" form (voy) + a + comer.
Modal verbs + infinitive
Can, want, must, have to
A modal verb is a helper verb followed by a second verb in the infinitive. You conjugate the modal; the second verb never changes:
poder — to be able / can
puedo
puedes
puede
podemos
podéis
pueden
querer — to want
quiero
quieres
quiere
queremos
queréis
quieren
deber — must / should
debo
debes
debe
debemos
debéis
deben
Puedo nadar. — I can swim. (boot o→ue)
Quiero salir. — I want to go out. (boot e→ie)
Debes estudiar. — You should study. (regular)
Three more musts:tener que + inf = "to have to" (tengo que estudiar); hay que + inf = impersonal "one must" (hay que practicar); saber + inf = "to know how to" (sé nadar — I know how to swim; sé, sabes, sabe…).
Quick check
After a modal verb
?Complete: Tengo que ____ mañana. ("I have to work tomorrow.")
Mission 1 check
What comes after «voy a»?
?Marta texts her friend: "We're going to watch a film on Saturday." Which version is correct?
Type it
Your turn — a modal verb
2Write the yo ("I") form of poder (to be able / can, o→ue).
Hint: "I" sits inside the boot, so o becomes ue.
Mission 2 of 3
Why does «gusta» become «gustan»?
Make a guess: why does «gusta» change to «gustan»?
gustar-type verbs · the flip
gustar — "to be pleasing to"
This is the trickiest structure at GCSE. gustar does not mean "to like" directly — it means "to be pleasing to". The sentence flips: Object – Verb – Subject.
me gusta el fútbolliterally: "football is pleasing to me" = I like football
Choose gusta before a singular noun or an infinitive; choose gustan before a plural noun. The pronoun tells you who likes it:
pronoun
who likes it
me
I like…
te
you like…
le
he / she likes…
nos
we like…
os
you all like…
les
they like…
Me gusta el fútbol. — I like football. (singular)
Me gustan los deportes. — I like sports. (plural)
Me gusta jugar. — I like to play. (infinitive → gusta)
Clarify or emphasise with A mí me gusta…, A él le gusta… Same-pattern verbs: encantar (to love — Me encanta), interesar (Me interesa), molestar (to annoy), doler (to hurt — Me duele la cabeza, Me duelen los pies).
Sort it
gusta or gustan?
Choose the correct form for each gap.
Mission 2 check
Why does «gusta» become «gustan»?
?Four pupils translate "She likes plants." about Sam's grandmother. Which pupil is right?
Quick check
Singular or plural?
?Complete: Me ____ los libros. ("I like books.")
Type it
Your turn — gusta or gustan?
3Complete with the right form: Me ____ el chocolate. ("I like chocolate.")
Hint: el chocolate is a single, singular thing.
Game · Match
Match the phrase to its meaning
Tap a Spanish phrase on the left, then tap its English meaning on the right.
SPANISH
Voy a
Tengo que
Quiero
Puedo
Me gustaría
Hay que
ENGLISH
I can
I'm going to
One must
I want
I would like
I have to
Mission 3 of 3
How do you say "would like" in Spanish?
Make a guess: how can Sam say "I would like to travel"?
Polite wishes · me gustaría
"I would like to…"
To say what you would like to do — softer and more polite than quiero — use gustaría + an infinitive. Same pronouns as gustar:
me gustaría + infinitiveme / te / le / nos / os / les gustaría + inf = I / you / … would like to…
Me gustaría viajar a España. — I would like to travel to Spain.
Nos gustaría visitar el museo. — We would like to visit the museum.
Also polite:quisiera + infinitive = "I would like" (quisiera reservar una mesa). These are fixed polite forms — the full conditional tense comes in cluster 7.
Quick check
Reading a gustar-verb
?A message says: Me encanta el cine. What does it mean?
Type it
Your turn — a polite wish
4Translate "I would like to travel" into Spanish. Three words.
Hint: me gustaría (with an accent on the í) + the infinitive viajar.
Quick check
After me gustaría
?Complete: Me gustaría ____ a Argentina. ("I would like to travel to Argentina.")
Giving opinions
Saying what you think
To lift your speaking and writing marks, open with an opinion phrase, then a normal present-tense clause:
Creo que el español es útil.I believe that Spanish is useful.
Justify it. Examiners reward opinions with reasons: Creo que el fútbol es divertido porque… ("…because…"). One opinion phrase + one reason lifts a whole answer.
Mission 3 check
How do you say "would like" in Spanish?
?Sam and his brother write: "We would like to learn Italian." Which version is correct?
Sort it
Needs gusta or gustan?
Sort each phrase into the bin for the verb form it needs after Me ___.
Needs gusta (singular / infinitive)
Needs gustan (plural)
Type it
Your turn — a modal verb
5Write the tú ("you") form of querer (to want, e→ie).
Hint: "you" sits inside the boot, so e becomes ie — then add the -es ending.
Recap
Your plans & opinions toolkit
Near future:ir (voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van) + a + infinitive = "going to / will".
Modals + infinitive:poder (puedo), querer (quiero), deber (debo), tener que, hay que, saber + inf.
gustar flip: Object–Verb–Subject. gusta before singular/infinitive, gustan before plural; pronouns me/te/le/nos/os/les.
Same family:encantar, interesar, molestar, doler.
Polite wishes:me gustaría + inf = "I would like to"; quisiera + inf.
Opinions:creo que, pienso que, en mi opinión, me parece que, para mí + present.
Now you can plan, wish and give a view. Press Finish to see your score.
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Next in the spine: Talking about the past — the preterite and imperfect. Then lock this in with the Evaluate confidence quiz.