Probamos paella por primera vez y la encontramos deliciosa.

We tried paella for the first time and found it delicious.

Breakdown of Probamos paella por primera vez y la encontramos deliciosa.

• nosotros: we
• y: and
• encontrar: to find
• delicioso: delicious

Questions & Answers about Probamos paella por primera vez y la encontramos deliciosa.

Why is probamos used here? Isn’t that form the same for present and past?

Probamos is indeed identical for nosotros in the present (“we try”) and in the preterite (“we tried”). In this sentence, por primera vez (“for the first time”) tells us it’s a completed action in the past, so probamos is the preterite. If you wanted to express an ongoing or habitual tasting in the present, you could say estamos probando paella (“we are trying paella”) or probamos paella a menudo (“we try paella often”).

Why is there no article before paella? Couldn’t I say la paella?

When you talk about a dish in a general or unspecified sense—“paella” as a type of food—Spanish normally omits the article. Saying Probamos paella is like “We tried paella (some).” If you refer to a specific paella (the one at that restaurant, for example), you could say Probamos la paella.

What does por primera vez mean, and why is it por and not para?

Por primera vez literally means “for the first time.” In Spanish, por is used in idioms expressing cause, duration, motive, or in this case a point in a sequence (“for the first time,” “for the second time,” etc.). Para expresses purpose or destination, so it wouldn’t work here.

Why is la placed before encontramos? Could you say encontramos la deliciosa?