No gastes todo tu dinero en carne costosa si planeas cocinar solamente una cena sencilla.

Do not spend all your money on expensive meat if you plan to cook only a simple dinner.

Breakdown of No gastes todo tu dinero en carne costosa si planeas cocinar solamente una cena sencilla.

• en: on
• si: if
• la cena: the dinner
• tu: your
• no: no
• el dinero: the money
• un: a
• cocinar: to cook
• sencillo: simple
• gastar: to spend
• todo: all
• planear: to plan
• la carne: the meat
• costoso: expensive
• solamente: only

Questions & Answers about No gastes todo tu dinero en carne costosa si planeas cocinar solamente una cena sencilla.

What is the role and conjugation of gastes in this sentence?

Gastes is the negative imperative form of the verb gastar for the tú form. In Spanish, when you give a negative command (i.e., telling someone not to do something), you use the present subjunctive. So gastes means "don't spend."

How do the adjectives in the sentence agree with the nouns they modify?

In Spanish, adjectives must agree in gender and number with the nouns they describe. In this sentence, carne (meat) is feminine singular, so the adjective costosa is in its feminine singular form. Likewise, dinero (money) is masculine singular, which is why the adjective todo (meaning “all”) is masculine singular.

What does solamente mean and why is it used here?

Solamente means "only" or "merely." It is used in the sentence to emphasize that you plan to cook just one simple dinner, implying that spending a lot of money on expensive meat is unnecessary for such a modest meal.

What is the function of the conditional clause introduced by si?

The word si translates directly to "if" and introduces a condition. In this sentence, the clause "si planeas cocinar solamente una cena sencilla" sets the condition under which the advice applies—namely, that if you’re planning to cook only a simple dinner, you shouldn’t spend all your money on expensive meat.

Why does the adjective sencilla come after cena, and does its placement affect the meaning?

In Spanish, adjectives typically come after the noun they modify, as seen with "cena sencilla" (simple dinner). This position is used for a straightforward description without additional connotations. While sometimes adjectives can be placed before the noun for stylistic or emphatic reasons, placing sencilla after cena is the standard structure and simply describes the dinner as being uncomplicated or plain.