Leo el menú y elijo mi plato favorito.

I

Breakdown of Leo el menú y elijo mi plato favorito.

• mi: my
• y: and
• leer: to read
• favorito: favorite
• el plato: the dish
• el menú: the menu
• elegir: to choose

Questions & Answers about Leo el menú y elijo mi plato favorito.

What does leo mean, and what is its conjugation in this sentence?

Leo is the first person singular present form of leer, which means "to read." In this sentence, it implies "I read" without needing to state yo because the verb ending already indicates the subject.

What does elijo mean and why does it have a stem change?

Elijo is the first person singular present form of elegir, meaning "to choose." Notice that elegir is a stem-changing verb: the e in the stem changes to i in this form, making it irregular. Thus, elijo translates to "I choose."

Why is the subject pronoun yo omitted from the sentence?

In Spanish, subject pronouns like yo are often dropped because the verb conjugations clearly indicate who is performing the action. The -o ending in both leo and elijo shows that the speaker is referring to "I," so including yo is unnecessary.

Why is the noun menú written with an accent mark?

The accent mark in menú signals that the stress falls on the second syllable rather than following the usual stress rules. This ensures correct pronunciation and distinguishes it from potential misreadings without the accent mark.

How do the phrases el menú and mi plato favorito function in this sentence?

The phrase el menú means "the menu," with the definite article el indicating a specific menu (usually the one provided by a restaurant). Similarly, mi plato favorito translates to "my favorite dish," where mi is the possessive adjective signifying ownership and favorito describes the dish as the speaker’s favorite.

How does the sentence structure in Spanish compare to its English equivalent?

The Spanish sentence Leo el menú y elijo mi plato favorito mirrors the English "I read the menu and choose my favorite dish" in terms of sequencing actions. A notable difference is that Spanish omits the subject pronoun yo—unlike English, where the subject "I" is required—and it consistently uses articles and possessive adjectives to clarify the nouns.