Breakdown of Íbamos a cenar en el restaurante nuevo, pero al final cocinamos en casa.
Questions & Answers about Íbamos a cenar en el restaurante nuevo, pero al final cocinamos en casa.
Íbamos a cenar is:
- Íbamos = we used to go / we were going (imperfect of ir)
- a cenar = to have dinner
Together, íbamos a cenar means “we were going to have dinner” in the sense of an intention or plan in the past.
The structure ir (in the past) + a + infinitive is used to talk about:
- something we intended to do,
- a plan that existed at that time,
- often something that didn’t actually happen.
So: Íbamos a cenar en el restaurante nuevo, pero… = We were going to have dinner at the new restaurant, but… (and then something different happened).
The choice of íbamos (imperfect) shows:
- an ongoing plan or intention in the past, not a completed action.
- The sentence describes what was supposed to happen, not what actually happened.
Compare:
Íbamos a cenar en el restaurante nuevo, pero al final cocinamos en casa.
→ We were going to have dinner at the new restaurant, but in the end we cooked at home.
(Plan/intention that changed.)Fuimos a cenar al restaurante nuevo.
→ We went to have dinner at the new restaurant.
(Action really happened and was completed.)
So the imperfect (íbamos) fits because it presents a background plan that contrasts with what actually happened (cocinamos en casa).
Spanish usually omits subject pronouns when the verb ending already shows the subject clearly.
- Íbamos already tells you the subject is we (nosotros), because of its -bamos ending (1st person plural imperfect).
- Similarly, cocinamos can mean we cook or we cooked, also understood from the context.
You could say:
- Nosotros íbamos a cenar…,
but it’s only used if you want to emphasize we (e.g., contrast with they), or for extra clarity. In normal speech, Íbamos a cenar… without nosotros is more natural.
The form cocinamos can be:
- present: we cook
- preterite (simple past): we cooked
In this sentence, context decides:
- There is a clear time contrast: We were going to do X, but in the end we did Y.
- English needs past: “but in the end we cooked at home.”
So here cocinamos = preterite → we cooked.
If you really needed to force it, you could clarify with a time word:
- Ayer cocinamos en casa. → Yesterday we cooked at home. (definitely past)
In Latin America (and generally in Spanish):
- desayunar = to have breakfast
- almorzar = to have lunch
- comer = often to eat in general, but in many countries it also commonly means to have lunch
- cenar = to have dinner / to have the evening meal
So cenar is specifically “to have dinner”.
If you said:
- Íbamos a comer en el restaurante nuevo, it would usually be understood as “We were going to eat / have a meal (often lunch) at the new restaurant.”
Here, cenar fits because the sentence clearly refers to dinner.
- en = in / at (location)
- a = to (direction, movement toward)
In this sentence:
- cenar en el restaurante nuevo = to have dinner *at the new restaurant* (location).
You would use a if you emphasize movement or going to the place:
- Íbamos al restaurante nuevo.
→ We were going to the new restaurant.
But when focusing on doing an activity at a location (eat, work, study, etc.), Spanish normally uses en:
- cenar en un restaurante = have dinner at a restaurant
- trabajar en una oficina = work in an office
Yes, there’s a nuance:
el restaurante nuevo
→ the new restaurant (newly opened / recently created or recently known to you; neutral)el nuevo restaurante can often suggest:
- the new one as opposed to the old one,
- another restaurant, a replacement,
depending on context.
In this sentence, el restaurante nuevo simply means “the new restaurant” (probably recently opened) and is the most straightforward option.
With many adjectives, before vs. after the noun can change the nuance. For nuevo:
- un coche nuevo = a brand-new car
- un nuevo coche = a new/different car (another one)
al final here means “in the end / eventually”, introducing the outcome after considering other options:
- …pero al final cocinamos en casa.
→ …but in the end we cooked at home.
Differences:
al final
- neutral; often after all that, in the end
- very common in conversation.
finalmente
- often finally / eventually, a bit more formal or written
- can sound more neutral or “logical result”.
por fin
- at last with a sense of relief or long wait.
- Por fin cocinamos en casa. would suggest Finally, we cooked at home (after not being able to before).
In this sentence, al final is the most natural: it contrasts the original plan with the final decision.
Íbamos a cenar al restaurante nuevo is not strictly wrong, and you might hear something like it, but it’s less standard.
- cenar en el restaurante nuevo focuses on having dinner at that place (location).
- cenar al restaurante sounds more like to go have dinner *to the restaurant*, which is influenced by English and not the usual pattern.
Native usage strongly prefers:
- cenar en el restaurante nuevo
over - cenar al restaurante nuevo.
So: understandable, but you should stick with en here.
In Spanish, restaurante is a masculine noun, so it takes:
- el restaurante (the restaurant)
- un restaurante (a restaurant)
- adjective in masculine form: nuevo.
That’s why we say:
- el restaurante nuevo (masc. sing.)
not la restaurante nueva.
Spanish gender is mostly arbitrary and lexical; you just have to learn that restaurante is masculine.
The accent in Íbamos marks the stressed syllable and distinguishes it from other similar forms.
- ir in imperfect:
- iba (yo)
- ibas (tú)
- iba (él/ella/usted)
- íbamos (nosotros) ← accent
- iban (ellos/ellas/ustedes)
Without the accent, ibamos would break normal stress rules (it would tend to be stressed on -ba- instead of Í). The accent ensures we pronounce it Í-ba-mos and also visually separates it from other forms.
So Íbamos is correctly spelled with an accent on Í.