Uso un huevo y un poco de aceite de oliva en la sartén cada mañana.

I use an egg and a little olive oil in the pan every morning.

Breakdown of Uso un huevo y un poco de aceite de oliva en la sartén cada mañana.

• yo: I
• usar: to use
• en: in
• la mañana: the morning

Questions & Answers about Uso un huevo y un poco de aceite de oliva en la sartén cada mañana.

Why is the verb uso in the present simple instead of something like estoy usando or utilizo?

Uso is the simple present (yo form of usar) used for habitual actions: “I use … every morning.”

• Estoy usando would imply you’re using it right at this moment.
• Utilizo is a synonym of usar, but usar is more common in everyday speech when talking about cooking.

Why is it un huevo (singular) instead of huevos (plural)?

Because the speaker is specifying one egg every morning.

• If you meant two or more eggs, you’d say uso dos huevos or huevos without a number modifier for a nonspecific amount.

What does un poco de mean, and why is de necessary?

Un poco de translates to “a little bit of.”

• Spanish uses de after expressions of quantity (poco, mucho, suficiente) to connect them to the noun: un poco de aceite → “a little bit of oil.”

Why is it aceite de oliva and not olive oil word-for-word?