Ayer comí pollo con limón y ensalada de tomate.

I

Breakdown of Ayer comí pollo con limón y ensalada de tomate.

• comer: to eat
• con: with
• y: and

Questions & Answers about Ayer comí pollo con limón y ensalada de tomate.

Why is comí used instead of comía?

Comí is the preterite tense in Spanish, used for actions that are considered completed or finished at a specific point in the past (in this case, yesterday). Comía is the imperfect tense, which would imply a repeated or ongoing past action, so it wouldn’t be as precise for a single completed event.

Do I need to include yo before comí?

It’s not necessary. In Spanish, subject pronouns are often omitted because the verb form already indicates the subject. You can say Ayer comí pollo con limón without using yo.

Is pollo con limón the same as saying pollo al limón in Spanish?

They’re similar but can have a slight nuance. Pollo con limón generally means chicken accompanied by lemon or prepared with lemon. Pollo al limón, especially in Spanish cooking, can refer to a more specific recipe where the chicken is cooked in a distinct lemon-based sauce. Both are correct; it just depends on the intended meaning.

Why do we say ensalada de tomate instead of ensalada con tomate?

Ensalada de tomate typically means a tomato-based salad or a salad whose main feature is tomato. Ensalada con tomate would mean a salad with tomato among other ingredients. In this sentence, ensalada de tomate emphasizes tomato as the primary ingredient.