Mis amigos opinan que este lugar es muy bonito.

My friends think that this place is very beautiful.

Breakdown of Mis amigos opinan que este lugar es muy bonito.

• el amigo: the friend
• ser: to be
• mi: my
• muy: very
• que: that
• bonito: beautiful
• el lugar: the place
• este: this
• opinar: to think

Questions & Answers about Mis amigos opinan que este lugar es muy bonito.

Why is it mis amigos and not something like los amigos or mises amigos?

In Spanish you use possessive adjectives (like mi, tu, su) instead of the to say my / your / his / her etc.

• mi amigo = my friend (singular)
• mis amigos = my friends (plural)
• los amigos = the friends

So:

• mis amigos = my friends
• los amigos = the friends (no idea whose friends)

There is no form mises. The possessive mi only changes to mis for the plural; it never adds -es.

The main possessive adjectives are:

• mi / mis – my
• tu / tus – your (informal singular)
• su / sus – his, her, your (formal), their
• nuestro, nuestra, nuestros, nuestras – our
• vuestro, vuestra, vuestros, vuestras – your (plural, mostly Spain)

They normally go before the noun and replace the article (el / la / los / las).

Why do we need que after opinan? Could we say Mis amigos opinan este lugar es muy bonito?

You must use que here. It introduces a subordinate clause:

• Mis amigos opinan que este lugar es muy bonito.
  = My friends are of the opinion that this place is very pretty.

In Spanish, after verbs of opinion like opinar, creer, pensar, you nearly always need que:

• Opinan que…
• Creen que…
• Piensan que…

You cannot say *Mis amigos opinan este lugar es… – that sounds wrong to a native speaker. The que is not optional in this structure.

What is the difference between opinar, pensar, and creer? Could I use piensan or creen instead?

All three can express opinions, but there are nuances:

• opinar – to give an opinion, to state your view
  
  • Mis amigos opinan que… = My friends are of the opinion that…
• pensar – to think (in general), to consider
  
  • Mis amigos piensan que… = My friends think that…
• creer – to believe, to think (believe something is true)
  
  • Mis amigos creen que… = My friends believe that…

In your sentence, you could use any of them:

• Mis amigos opinan que este lugar es muy bonito.
• Mis amigos piensan que este lugar es muy bonito.
• Mis amigos creen que este lugar es muy bonito.

All are correct. Opinar emphasizes the idea of expressing an opinion; pensar and creer are more common in everyday speech.

Why is it este lugar and not esta lugar, esto lugar, or estos lugares?

Demonstratives (este/esta/esto, etc.) must agree with the noun in gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural).

• lugar (place) is masculine and singular.
• So you must use este (masculine singular).

Main forms:

• Masculine: este (this), ese (that), aquel (that over there)
• Feminine: esta, esa, aquella
• Neuter (no specific noun mentioned): esto, eso, aquello
  
  • e.g. ¿Qué es esto? – What is this?

Examples:

• este lugar – this place (near me)
• ese lugar – that place (near you / not so near me)
• aquel lugar – that place (far from both of us)
• esta casa – this house
• estos lugares – these places (plural, masculine)
• estas casas – these houses (plural, feminine)

So este lugar is the correct match of this + place.

Why is the verb es and not está? What is the difference here?

This is the ser vs. estar issue.

• ser (here: es) is used for more permanent or inherent characteristics, general opinions, definitions, etc.
• estar (here: está) is used more for temporary states, locations, and results of changes.

With adjectives like bonito describing a place:

• Este lugar es muy bonito.
  → General characteristic, permanent or typical quality:
  This place (in general) is very pretty.

• Este lugar está muy bonito.
  → Often suggests a current state, perhaps after some change:
  This place looks very pretty (right now, maybe after decorating/cleaning).

Both can be used, but the nuance changes:

• Your original sentence with es is giving a general opinion about the place, which fits the verb of opinion opinan.

Why is bonito in the masculine singular form and not bonita or bonitos?

Adjectives in Spanish must agree with the noun they describe in gender and number.

• Noun: lugar – masculine, singular.
• Adjective: bonito must match: masculine, singular.

So:

• lugar bonito – pretty place
• lugares bonitos – pretty places
• casa bonita – pretty house (feminine singular)
• casas bonitas – pretty houses (feminine plural)

In your sentence:

• este lugar → masculine singular
• muy bonito → masculine singular

That’s why bonito is used, not bonita or bonitos.

Why is the adjective bonito placed after lugar, not before it, like in English (pretty place)?

Typical Spanish word order for descriptive adjectives is:

noun + adjective

So:

• lugar bonito – pretty place
• casa grande – big house
• coche caro – expensive car

Putting the adjective after the noun is the default in Spanish for factual, descriptive information (size, colour, shape, etc.).

Some adjectives can go before the noun, especially when they express a more subjective or emotional quality, or when they change meaning:

• un gran hombre – a great man (before → figurative)
• un hombre grande – a big man (after → literal size)

But with a neutral, descriptive sentence like yours, este lugar es muy bonito is the normal order.

Why is it muy bonito and not mucho bonito?

Spanish distinguishes muy and mucho clearly:

• muy = very
  Used with adjectives and adverbs.

  • muy bonito – very pretty
  • muy rápido – very fast
  • muy bien – very well

• mucho / mucha / muchos / muchas = a lot of / much / many
  Used with nouns (as a determiner) and sometimes with verbs (as an adverb).

  • mucho trabajo – a lot of work
  • muchas personas – many people
  • Trabajo mucho. – I work a lot.

Since bonito is an adjective, you must use muy, not mucho:

• ✅ muy bonito
• ❌ *mucho bonito (incorrect in standard Spanish)

Why don’t we say Ellos mis amigos opinan… or use ellos at all? In English we need they.

In Spanish the subject pronoun (yo, tú, él, nosotros, etc.) is usually omitted because the verb ending already shows who is doing the action.

• opinan (3rd person plural) = they (some people) think / are of the opinion.

Here, the subject is explicitly given as mis amigos, so adding ellos is unnecessary and sounds odd:

• ✅ Mis amigos opinan que…
• ❌ Ellos mis amigos opinan que… (unnatural)

You could say:

• Ellos opinan que este lugar es muy bonito.
  → Ellos is the subject, but then you would normally drop mis amigos altogether.

In most everyday Spanish, you leave the subject pronoun out unless you want to emphasize contrast (Ellos opinan… pero yo no.).

Could we say Mis amigos opinan de este lugar que es muy bonito or something similar?

A native speaker would not say it that way in standard Spanish. The natural structure is:

• Opinar que + [clause]

So:

• ✅ Mis amigos opinan que este lugar es muy bonito.

You can talk about something using opinar sobre/de:

• Mis amigos opinan sobre este lugar. – My friends give their opinion about this place.
• ¿Qué opinas de este lugar? – What do you think of this place?

But once you add a full statement “this place is very pretty”, you use:

• opinar que + este lugar es muy bonito

Not:

• ❌ *opinan de este lugar que es muy bonito (awkward/incorrect).

What does bonito really mean here? Is it the same as beautiful, nice, cute, etc.?

Bonito is a fairly general, positive adjective. Depending on context, it can translate as:

• pretty
• nice-looking
• nice
• lovely

For places in Spain:

• Este lugar es muy bonito.
  → This place is very pretty / really nice.

Other options:

• hermoso – beautiful (more elevated/formal)
• precioso – beautiful, gorgeous, lovely (stronger praise)
• chulo (Spain, colloquial) – cool, nice (informal and can sound very casual)

In many everyday contexts, bonito is a natural, neutral way to say that something looks pleasing or attractive without being very strong or poetic.