Breakdown of En la cena ponemos pan, aceite de oliva y aceitunas en la mesa.
Questions & Answers about En la cena ponemos pan, aceite de oliva y aceitunas en la mesa.
En la cena literally means “at dinner” (more literally “in the dinner,” but English uses “at”).
- en can mean in / on / at depending on context. With meals, en commonly means “at (the time of)”:
- En la cena hablamos de nuestro día. – At dinner we talk about our day.
- En el desayuno tomo café. – At breakfast I have coffee.
Using a la cena would sound like “to the dinner,” and durante la cena means “during dinner,” focusing on the duration, not just the occasion. Here we just mean the general time/occasion of dinner, so en is the natural choice.
Spanish often uses the definite article (el, la, los, las) where English doesn’t. Meals are a classic case:
- En la cena – At dinner
- Después del almuerzo – After lunch
- Antes del desayuno – Before breakfast
In English we drop “the” with meals in generic expressions (“at dinner,” “after lunch”), but in Spanish it’s normally required: la cena, el almuerzo, el desayuno.
So “En la cena” is the standard, natural wording.
Ponemos is the present tense, first person plural (we) form of poner (to put):
- yo pongo – I put
- tú pones – you put
- él / ella pone – he / she puts
- nosotros ponemos – we put
- ellos ponen – they put
So ponemos tells you the implied subject is “we”:
En la cena ponemos… – At dinner we put …
The present tense here expresses a habitual action: something we usually do at dinner, not just one specific occasion.
You can say:
- Ponemos pan, aceite de oliva y aceitunas en la mesa en la cena.
It’s grammatically correct, but it sounds a bit heavier and less natural. Spanish word order is flexible, but speakers often place a time expression like “En la cena” at the beginning to set the scene:
- En la cena ponemos pan, aceite de oliva y aceitunas en la mesa. (very natural)
- Ponemos en la mesa pan, aceite de oliva y aceitunas en la cena. (also possible)
All convey the same basic meaning; the original order just flows more naturally.
Yes, you could say “En la cena servimos pan, aceite de oliva y aceitunas…”, and it would be correct.
Nuance:
- poner (algo en la mesa) – literally to put / place something on the table. Focus on physically placing it there.
- servir (algo) – to serve something (to guests / people). Focus on offering food/drinks.
In many everyday contexts they overlap:
- Ponemos la mesa. – We set the table.
- Servimos la cena a las ocho. – We serve dinner at eight.
In the original sentence, ponemos … en la mesa emphasizes physically putting those items on the table.
Here they’re treated as indefinite amounts, like “some bread, some olive oil, and some olives.”
Spanish often omits the article with uncountable or plural nouns when you mean “some” in a general, non-specific way:
- Compré pan. – I bought (some) bread.
- Hay agua. – There is (some) water.
- Quiero aceitunas. – I want (some) olives.
If you say:
- En la cena ponemos el pan, el aceite de oliva y las aceitunas…
then it sounds like you’re talking about specific, known items (the particular bread, the specific olives everyone already knows about). That’s a different nuance.
Yes, “aceite de oliva” is the standard phrase for olive oil.
Structure: noun + de + noun is very common in Spanish to show type or origin:
- jugo de naranja – orange juice
- sopa de pollo – chicken soup
- aceite de girasol – sunflower oil
So aceite de oliva literally means “oil of olive.”
You cannot say ✗ aceite oliva. Spanish almost always needs de in this type of structure.
Both aceituna and oliva can mean olive (the fruit), but usage varies by region:
- In most of Spain, both appear, but aceituna is very common in everyday speech for the edible olive.
- In many parts of Latin America, aceituna is the normal word; oliva is less common in everyday speech and can sound more technical or literary.
In Latin American Spanish, aceitunas is the safest, most natural choice for “olives” in this context.
Both are possible, but there’s a nuance:
- en la mesa – on/at the table (very general, everyday).
- sobre la mesa – literally “on top of the table,” a bit more specific/visual about being on the surface.
In many contexts, with putting items on a table, speakers naturally say:
- Poner algo en la mesa. – to put something on the table.
Sobre la mesa is also correct:
- Pon los libros sobre la mesa. – Put the books on (top of) the table.
In this sentence, en la mesa is the most neutral, common expression.
Yes, you can:
- En la cena ponemos pan, aceite de oliva y aceitunas.
That would mean “At dinner we (usually) have/serve bread, olive oil and olives,” without explicitly mentioning the table. The idea of putting them on the table is implied in the dinner context.
Adding “en la mesa” makes the physical action extra clear: we actually place them on the table. Both versions are correct; the original is just more specific about location.