Breakdown of Celebramos el aniversario en casa con una cena sencilla y música tranquila.
Questions & Answers about Celebramos el aniversario en casa con una cena sencilla y música tranquila.
Celebramos can be either:
- Present tense: celebramos = we celebrate
- Preterite (simple past): celebramos = we celebrated
For -ar verbs, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite, so only context tells you which it is:
- Present: Cada año celebramos el aniversario… – Every year we celebrate the anniversary…
- Past: Ayer celebramos el aniversario… – Yesterday we celebrated the anniversary…
In your isolated sentence, both readings are grammatically possible.
Both are correct:
- Celebramos el aniversario – We celebrate(d) the anniversary
- Celebramos nuestro aniversario – We celebrate(d) our anniversary
Spanish often uses the definite article (el, la) where English would use a possessive (my/our/etc.), especially when it’s obvious whose thing it is:
- Celebramos el aniversario (it’s clear it’s our anniversary from context)
- Me duele la cabeza. – My head hurts.
If you want to be explicit or contrast with another anniversary (for example, your parents’ vs. your own), you can say nuestro aniversario.
In Spanish, singular countable nouns almost always need an article (or another determiner):
- el aniversario – the anniversary
- un aniversario – an anniversary
- este aniversario – this anniversary
Saying just celebramos aniversario sounds wrong in standard Spanish.
English can often drop the/a after certain verbs (“celebrate anniversary”), but Spanish cannot do that in the same way, so el is required here.
en casa = at home
- More general: your home, or “home” in the abstract sense.
- Often implies your own place (or the speaker’s place), without saying mi.
en la casa = in the house / in the home
- Refers to a specific house, like a particular building or location.
- Could be someone else’s house, a house being described in a story, etc.
Compare:
- Esta noche cenamos en casa. – Tonight we’re having dinner at home.
- Hay mucha gente en la casa de al lado. – There are a lot of people in the house next door.
They describe different ideas:
en casa = at home / in the house (location)
- Estamos en casa. – We are at home.
a casa = to home / to the house (movement toward a place)
- Vamos a casa. – We are going home.
In your sentence, it’s describing where you celebrated, not movement, so en casa is correct.
In Spanish, when you talk about music in general or in a non-countable way, you usually omit the indefinite article:
- Escuchamos música. – We listen to music.
- Pusimos música tranquila. – We put on calm/relaxing music.
Una música tranquila is possible but sounds more like:
- A particular piece/type of music:
Había una música tranquila de fondo. – There was some calm music in the background. - Or a more literary/poetic style.
In your sentence, you’re talking about music as an uncountable thing (like “we had wine”), so música tranquila without una is the natural choice.
The normal word order in Spanish is:
- noun + adjective
una cena sencilla – a simple dinner
música tranquila – calm music
Putting the adjective before the noun is possible but less common and usually adds some subjective, emotional, or stylistic nuance:
- una sencilla cena might sound a bit more literary, or emphasize the modest, unpretentious nature of the dinner — almost like saying “just a simple little dinner.”
For everyday speech, una cena sencilla is the standard, neutral order.
In Spanish, adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe.
- cena is feminine singular (la cena) → sencilla (feminine singular)
- música is feminine singular (la música) → tranquila (feminine singular)
If the nouns were masculine, the adjectives would change:
- un desayuno sencillo – a simple breakfast
- un sonido tranquilo – a calm/quiet sound
Both sencillo/sencilla and simple can mean simple or plain, and in many cases they’re close synonyms:
- una cena sencilla / una cena simple – a simple dinner
Nuances:
- sencillo often feels a bit warmer / more positive: modest, not fancy, uncomplicated.
- simple can be perfectly neutral, but in some contexts it can sound a bit more negative (like “just,” “only,” or “simple-minded”):
- Es una persona muy sencilla. – He/She is very down-to-earth, modest. (positive)
- Es un simple empleado. – He’s just an employee. (can sound dismissive)
In your sentence, cena sencilla sounds very natural and slightly positive: a nice, modest, not-fancy dinner.
Música tranquila can suggest both, depending on context:
- Often: relaxing, calm, not energetic (style/mood)
- Soft, slow, not aggressive or loud.
- It can also imply not too loud / not disturbing, but for pure volume people often say música suave (soft) or música bajita (low volume).
So in your sentence, most listeners will picture relaxing, gentle music, not a loud party playlist.
Yes, but each has a slightly different focus:
- música tranquila – calm, peaceful, not intense (focus on mood)
- música suave – soft, gentle, not harsh or loud (focus on softness or volume)
- música lenta – slow music (focus on tempo)
All could fit a quiet anniversary dinner, but:
- música tranquila suggests calm atmosphere.
- música suave suggests soft, gentle sound.
- música lenta might make you think more of slow songs, maybe for dancing.
Cena is the evening meal in almost all Spanish-speaking countries, including Latin America, so it usually corresponds to dinner or supper in English.
However, meal customs vary:
- desayuno – breakfast
- almuerzo – lunch (in many Latin American countries)
- cena – dinner / evening meal
In some regions people may use comida to mean the main meal of the day (often midday), but cena still refers specifically to the evening meal.
So in your sentence, una cena sencilla is naturally understood as a simple dinner.