A delicious meal is one of the greatest pleasures of our life. Let’s speak about our favourite food in Spanish.
Vocabulary
In this lesson, we will practice the following vocabulary. Read the words, listen to the audio and remember them:
pan
bread
azúcar
sugar
manzana
apple
supermercado
supermarket
fruta
fruit
verdura
vegetables
tomate
tomato
queso
cheese
arroz
rice
carne
meat
pescado
fish
pollo
chicken
té
tea
café
coffee
leche
milk
bebida
drink
cerveza
beer
vino tinto / vino blanco
red wine / white wine
copa
wine glass
salud
health
sano
healthy
¡Qué rico!
How delicious!
colores:
colours:
blanco
white
negro
black
rojo
red
verde
green
azul
blue
amarillo
yellow
marrón
brown
gris
grey
Dialogues
Listen carefully to the following Spanish dialogues. They will help you understand this lesson’s vocabulary in the right context:
Dialogue 1
¿A dónde vas, Juan?
Where are you going, Juan?
Voy al supermercado. Tengo que comprar fruta y verdura. ¿Necesitas algo?
I’m going to the supermarket. I have to buy fruit and vegetables. Do you need anything?
Sí. Necesito pan, azúcar y dos kilos de manzanas.
Yes, I do. I need bread, sugar and two kilos of apples.
¿Qué manzanas te gustan más? ¿Prefieres verdes, rojas o amarillas?
What apples do you like more? Do you prefer the green, the red or the yellow ones?
Me da igual. Verdes, por ejemplo.
I don’t care. The green ones, for example.
¿Algo más?
Anything else?
Ay, sí. Té negro, por favor. ¡Y leche! No tengo leche para el café.
Oh, yes. Black tea, please. And milk! I don’t have any milk for my coffee.
¡¿Tengo que comprar todo esto?!
I have to buy all this?!
Sí, por favor… ¡Eres un muy buen amigo!
Yes, please… You are a very good friend!
Dialogue 2
Carmen, ¿cuál es tu bebida favorita?
Carmen, what is your favourite drink?
Me gusta mucho el café. Puedo tomar café cinco veces al día.
I like coffee very much. I can drink coffee five times a day.
Pero el café no es bueno para la salud. Dicen que es mejor tomar té.
But coffee is not good for health. They say it’s better to drink tea.
¡Mira quién habla! Tú tomas cerveza a todas horas. ¿Es buena la cerveza para la salud?
Look who is talking! You drink beer all the time. Is beer good for health?
Pués, no sé… pero me gusta. Y tú, ¿núnca bebes alcohol?
Well, I don’t know… but I like it. And you, don’t you ever drink alcohol?
A veces tomo vino con mis amigos.
Sometimes I drink wine with my friends.
¿Y qué vino prefieres, blanco o tinto?
And which wine do you prefer, white or red?
Me gusta más el vino tinto. Por cierto, dicen que tomar una copa de vino al día es bueno para la salud.
I like red wine more. By the way, they say that having a glass of wine a day is good for health.
¡Qué bien! Tienes que estar muy sana entonces…
How nice! You have to be very healthy then…
Dialogue 3
Lucas, ¿por qué no comes carne?
Lucas, why don’t you eat meat?
Porque soy vegetariano.
Because I’m a vegetarian.
Sí, ya lo sé. Pero, ¿por qué?
Yes, I know. But why?
Porque me gustan los animales, y no quiero comerlos.
Because I like animals and I don’t want to eat them.
¿Y comes pollo?
And do you eat chicken?
Claro que no. El pollo es carne.
Of course not. Chicken is meat.
¿Y comes pescado?
And do you eat fish?
Pues tampoco… lógicamente.
Well no… naturally.
Pero entonces, ¡¿qué comes?!
So what DO you eat then?
Fruta, verdura, arroz… Hoy, voy a comer esto, mira.
Fruit, vegetables, rice… Today I’m going to eat this, look.
Mmmmmh, ¡qué rico!
Mmmm, how yummy!
Text
Read the following text in Spanish. You can check the English translation if you need help. Also, listen to the audio and try to understand everything:
Hola. Me llamo Ramón y soy cocinero. Trabajo en un pequeño restaurante en Valencia. ¿Sabéis dónde está Valencia? Esta ciudad está en la costa del Mar Mediterráneo. Valencia tiene playas bonitas y muchos turistas.
Hello. My name is Ramon, and I’m a cook. I work at a small restaurant in Valencia. Do you know where Valencia is? This city is situated on the coast of the Mediterranean sea. In Valencia, there are beautiful beaches and a lot of tourists.
En casa siempre cocino yo. Me gusta comer y cocinar comida sana. Por eso a menudo comemos fruta, verdura y mucho pescado. El pescado en España es muy bueno porque el mar siempre está cerca.
At home, I’m always the one who cooks. I like to eat and to cook healthy food. That’s why we often eat fruit, vegetables and a lot of fish. In Spain, the fish is very delicious because the sea is always close.
El restaurante donde trabajo es un restaurante italiano. Este restaurante es muy famoso. Dicen que hacemos las mejores pizzas de Valencia. Mi pizza favorita es la margarita, porque me gusta el tomate y el queso. ¿A quién no le gusta la pizza?
The restaurant where I work is an Italian restaurant. This restaurant is very famous. They say that we make the best pizzas in Valencia. My favourite pizza is a Margarita because I like tomatoes and cheese. Who doesn’t like pizza?
Spanish Grammar
We will now study the grammar used in this lesson:
New verbs: tomar, necesitar, cocinar, beber, preferir
Let’s memorize the new verbs of this lesson. Pay special attention to the forms of the verb “preferir”.
| tomar (to take, to have) | necesitar (to need) | cocinar (to cook) | beber (to drink) | preferir (to prefer) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| yo tomo | yo necesito | yo cocino | yo bebo | yo prefiero |
| tú tomas | tú necesitas | tú cocinas | tú bebes | tú prefieres |
| él toma | él necesita | él cocina | él bebe | él prefiere |
| nosotros tomamos | nosotros necesitamos | nosotros cocinamos | nosotros bebemos | nosotros preferimos |
| vosotros tomáis | vosotros necesitáis | vosotros cocináis | vosotros bebéis | vosotros preferís |
| ellos toman | ellos necesitan | ellos cocinan | ellos beben | ellos prefieren |
The verb “tomar” is used very often in Spanish. It can mean “to take” or “to have/to drink”. Let’s see how we can use it in the meaning “to take“:
- Tomo el libro y empiezo a leer. – I take the book and start reading.
- ¿Quieres una manzana? Toma. – Do you want an apple? Take it (imperative).
The other meaning of this verb is “to have/to drink“. Have a look at the examples:
- Me gusta tomar vino. – I like drinking wine. = Me gusta beber vino.
- Pedro no toma leche. – Pedro doesn’t drink milk. = Pedro no bebe leche.
Attention!
The verb “tomar” in Spain and in Latin America
In Spain, the verb “tomar” is more often used in the meaning “to drink/to have“. To say “to take/to grab” Spaniards usually use the verb “coger” (we’ll study it in our future lessons). However, in Latin America, they prefer to use “tomar” in this meaning because the verb “coger” is a vulgar way for them to say “to have sex”.
How to say “I need”
Saying “I need” in Spanish is very easy. Just put the verb “necesitar” into the correct form:
- Necesito leche y pan. – I need milk and bread.
- ¿Necesitas algo? – Do you need anything?
- Antonio necesita un profesor de inglés. – Antonio needs an English teacher.
Demonstrative pronouns: Este, esta, esto …
The pronouns “this” and “these” are called “demonstrative“. In English, we make a difference only between singular and plural: this and these. In Spanish, we also have to take into account the gender of the word:
| gender | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | Este texto es interesante. (This text is interesting) |
Estos textos son interesantes. (These texts are interesting) |
| feminine | Esta mujer trabaja aquí. (This woman works here) |
Estas mujeres trabajan aquí. (These women work here) |
| neuter | Esto está rico. (This is delicious) |
– |
Pay attention to the neuter form “esto”. As you know, in Spanish, there are no words of neuter gender. So, the neuter form is used when there is no noun:
- Esto está rico. – This is delicious.
- ¿Tengo que comprar todo esto? – Do I have to buy all this?
Attention!
Ser rico or estar rico?
The word “rico” usually means “rich”. In this case, it is used with the verb “ser”:
- Mi abuelo es rico. – My grandfather is rich.
- Aquí hay muchos turistas ricos. – Here, there are many rich tourists.
“Estar rico” means “to be delicious/to be yummy”. You can also use the phrase “estar bueno” in this meaning:
- Este pan está rico. – This bread is delicious. = Este pan está bueno.
Using pronouns as a direct object: lo, la, los, las
In English, we say “He is my friend” but “I saw him today”. The pronoun “he” changes to “him” because we use it in the function of a direct object: I saw… whom…him. Let’s see how the Spanish pronouns change when they become a direct object:
| when used as a subject | when used as an object |
|---|---|
| Me gusta el pan. | Lo como todos los días. (I eat it every day) |
| Me gusta la leche. | La bebo todos los días. (I drink it every day) |
| Me gustan los textos. | Los leo todos los días. (I read them every day) |
| Me gustan las manzanas. | Las compro todos los días. (I buy them every day) |
Don’t forget that Spanish words are either masculine or feminine. So, in Spanish we literally say “I like bread. I eat him every day”. Also, pay attention to the word order. A direct object usually goes before the verb, and not after it: Lo como / Los compro / La bebo. The word order is different, however, when we use the pronouns with the infinitives:
- Me gustan los animales. No quiero comerlos. – I like animals. I don’t want to eat them.
- No me gusta este vino. No voy a beberlo. – I don’t like this wine. I’m not going to drink it.
Test
Let’s check how well you know this lesson:
