Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): El domingo preparamos el almuerzo juntos.

In Spanish, days of the week usually take the definite article when referring to a specific day (equivalent to “on Sunday”). You say El domingo to mean “this past Sunday” or “on Sunday.” If you want to express a habitual action, you’d pluralize and say los domingos (“on Sundays”).

What tense is preparamos? Does it mean “we prepare” or “we prepared”?

The form preparamos is identical for the present tense (“we prepare”) and the preterite past tense (“we prepared”). Context determines the meaning. Since the sentence starts with El domingo (a time marker), it refers to a completed action in the past: “we prepared.”

Why isn’t there an accent mark on preparamos to distinguish the tense?

Spanish accent rules don’t require a written accent for the 1st-person plural of –ar verbs, neither in the present nor in the preterite. Both are spelled preparamos, and context alone tells you which tense it is.

Why isn’t nosotros included before preparamos? Wouldn’t “Nosotros preparamos” be clearer?

Spanish often omits subject pronouns because the verb ending already indicates the subject. Preparamos clearly signals “we,” so adding nosotros is redundant. You only include nosotros for emphasis or contrast (e.g., Nosotros preparamos, but ellos no).

Why do we say el almuerzo with a definite article? Couldn’t we just say “prepare lunch”?

In Spanish, meal names like el desayuno (breakfast), el almuerzo (lunch) and la cena (dinner) generally take the definite article when speaking about “the meal.” It’s not optional here; you wouldn’t normally drop the article in this context.

Can we drop the article and say preparamos almuerzo juntos?

No. Saying preparamos almuerzo juntos sounds incomplete or overly telegraphic. The standard phrasing is preparamos el almuerzo juntos.

Why is juntos placed at the end of the sentence? Could it appear elsewhere?

Spanish word order is flexible. All of these are grammatically correct:

El domingo preparamos juntos el almuerzo.
El domingo juntos preparamos el almuerzo.
Juntos, el domingo preparamos el almuerzo.
Putting juntos at the end is simply the most natural and common pattern.

Does juntos need to agree in gender or number with the speakers?

Here juntos functions as an adverb meaning “together,” so it doesn’t change form. If it were used as an adjective modifying a noun, it would agree:

Los niños juntos (boys together)
Las niñas juntas (girls together)
But in preparamos juntos, it stays juntos regardless of the group.

Should there be a comma after El domingo?

Commas after short introductory time phrases are optional in Spanish.

El domingo preparamos el almuerzo juntos. (no comma)
El domingo, preparamos el almuerzo juntos. (with comma for a slight pause)
Both are correct; most writers drop it if the phrase is brief.

Could I use cocinamos instead of preparamos to say “we made lunch”?

Yes, you could say El domingo cocinamos el almuerzo juntos, but there’s a nuance:

cocinar focuses specifically on the cooking/heating process.
preparar covers the entire preparation (assembling, cooking, plating, etc.).
Both verbs work, but preparar is more general.