Breakdown of La tripulación prepara la comida en el barco.
la comida
the food
en
on
preparar
to prepare
la tripulación
the crew
el barco
the ship
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Spanish grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about La tripulación prepara la comida en el barco.
Why is there a definite article before tripulación? Can't we say Tripulación prepara la comida en el barco?
In Spanish, collective nouns like tripulación (“crew”) almost always take an article when you refer to a specific group. Saying La tripulación sounds natural and means “the crew.” Omitting the article would sound odd or overly curt.
Why is the verb prepara singular? Shouldn’t it be preparan since a crew is many people?
Although a crew consists of multiple people, tripulación is a single collective noun, so you treat it grammatically as singular. That’s why you use the 3rd person singular form prepara instead of the 3rd person plural preparan.
Why do we say la comida instead of una comida?
La comida here refers to a specific set of dishes or meal that the crew prepares on the ship—hence the definite article. If you wanted to say “they prepare a meal,” in general, you would use una comida.
Should we add the personal a before la comida, like prepara a la comida?
No. The personal a only marks a direct object when it is a person or sometimes an animal. La comida is an inanimate thing, so you do not use the personal a.
Why is the preposition en used for “on the boat”? Can we use sobre or a bordo instead?
En is the most common preposition for location in Spanish, covering both “in” and “on.” You could say a bordo del barco (“on board the ship”) for a slightly more formal or nautical tone, or sobre el barco if you literally mean “on top of the boat.” But en el barco is everyday speech.
What’s the difference between barco and bote?
Both mean “boat,” but barco usually refers to larger vessels or ships, while bote is a smaller boat or dinghy. Context and size will guide your choice.
Is it possible to use the present progressive (está preparando) instead of the simple present?
Yes. If you want to emphasize that the action is happening right now, you can say La tripulación está preparando la comida en el barco. The simple present (prepara) often implies either a habitual action or a narrative description.
Could we say los tripulantes preparan la comida instead of la tripulación prepara la comida?
Absolutely. Los tripulantes (“the crew members”) is a plural noun, so you would use preparan. It shifts the focus from the crew as a single unit to the individuals in the crew, but the basic meaning remains the same.
Why is tripulación feminine?
In Spanish, almost all nouns ending in -ción are feminine (for example, la nación, la canción). It’s a grammatical gender rule—there’s no change in meaning, just a pattern you’ll see with words that end in -ción.