Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): La ensalada llevará lechuga, zanahoria y un toque de miel. - The salad will have lettuce, carrot and a touch of honey.

Here, llevará is the third‐person singular future tense of llevar. When talking about food, llevar means “to include” or “to have as an ingredient.” So La ensalada llevará… translates as “The salad will include…” (or “The salad is going to have…”).

Why use llevará (future tense) instead of the present tense lleva?

Using the future tense can:

Sound more formal or promotional, as on a menu or in a description of a dish you plan to serve.
Imply a sense of “what you’ll get” rather than a general statement.
You could also say La ensalada lleva lechuga… to describe a recipe in more everyday terms.

How do you form the future tense of llevar?

Llevar is a regular –ar verb. To form the future, you attach the endings directly to the infinitive:

• yo llevaré
• tú llevarás
• él/ella/usted llevará ← note the accent on á
• nosotros llevaremos
• vosotros llevaréis
• ellos/ellas/ustedes llevarán

The accent marks the stress on the final syllable.

Why are lechuga and zanahoria in the singular form?

In Spanish, when listing ingredients in a general way, you often use the singular to express “lettuce” or “carrot” as uncountable or generic items. It’s like saying “lettuce” or “carrot” in English. If you want to specify a number, you’d use the plural or add a quantity:

Dos zanahorias (two carrots)
Un poco de lechuga (some lettuce)

Why is there no article before lechuga and zanahoria, but there is un before toque?

When you list ingredients generically, Spanish typically omits articles:

Lechuga, zanahoria y un toque de miel
However, toque is a countable noun meaning “a little touch,” so it requires an article: un toque (“a touch”).

What does un toque de miel mean?

Literally “a touch of honey,” it’s an idiomatic way to say “a small amount of honey” or “a hint of honey” to flavor the salad without overwhelming it.

Could you just say miel instead of un toque de miel?

You could say “La ensalada llevará miel”, but that suggests you’re adding honey in a more substantial amount. Un toque de miel emphasizes that it’s only a subtle hint.

Why is miel feminine but the article un is masculine?

The article un modifies toque (which is masculine), not miel. The full phrase is un toque de miel (“a touch of honey”), so un agrees with toque.

Is llevar the same as poner when talking about recipes?

They overlap but have different focuses:

Llevar = to include or contain (used for describing ingredients):
“La paella lleva mariscos.”
Poner = to put or place (used for cooking instructions):
“Pon la lechuga en el bol.”

Can I use the present tense lleva if I’m just describing my usual salad?

Absolutely! If you’re talking about what your everyday salad contains, you’d say:
“La ensalada lleva lechuga, zanahoria y un toque de miel.”
The present tense is very common for recipes or general statements.