Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): Mi hermana quiere preparar una crema de verduras menos salada para la cena. - My sister wants to prepare a less salty vegetable cream for dinner.

You don’t say la mi hermana in standard modern Spanish. That sounds old-fashioned or dialectal in some areas and is not what you should learn.

If you add an adjective, you can use an article, but then the structure changes:

La hermana mayor de mi amiga = My friend’s older sister

Here you’re not using a possessive adjective directly with hermana, so the rule is different.

Why is it quiere preparar and not quiere a preparar?

In Spanish, when one verb (like querer) is followed by another verb in the infinitive, you normally do not add a between them:

quiero comer = I want to eat
queremos salir = We want to go out
Mi hermana quiere preparar = My sister wants to prepare

Some verbs do take a preposition before an infinitive (e.g. empezar a hacer, aprender a conducir), but querer is not one of them in this structure.

So:

✅ Mi hermana quiere preparar…
❌ Mi hermana quiere a preparar…

Why is quiere singular and not quieren?

The verb must agree with the subject:

Subject: Mi hermana → 3rd person singular (she)
Verb: quiere → 3rd person singular of querer

If the subject were plural, the verb would be plural:

Mis hermanas quieren preparar una crema de verduras…
(My sisters want to prepare…)

So mi hermana quiere is correct because there is only one sister.

Why is it preparar and not prepara?

Preparar is the infinitive (the basic “dictionary form”: to prepare).

After querer (to want), Spanish usually uses an infinitive:

Mi hermana quiere preparar… = My sister wants to prepare…

If you said:

Mi hermana prepara una crema de verduras…

then prepara (present indicative) would mean My sister prepares / is preparing (a statement of action), not wants to prepare.

So:

quiere preparar = wants to prepare
prepara = prepares / is preparing

What exactly does crema de verduras mean? Is it “cream of vegetables” or “vegetable soup”?

Literally, crema de verduras is “cream of vegetables”, but in Spain this usually means a smooth, blended vegetable soup, often similar to:

cream of vegetable soup
pureed vegetable soup

Some nuances:

crema: a thick, smooth soup or purée-like consistency
sopa de verduras: a more liquid vegetable soup, often with visible chunks

So in Spain, una crema de verduras is a common way to say a blended vegetable soup served with a creamy texture, even if it doesn’t contain dairy cream.

Why is it una crema and not un crema?

In Spanish, crema is a feminine noun:

la crema, una crema (feminine)
el / un are for masculine nouns.

That’s why the article must match in gender:

✅ una crema de verduras
❌ un crema de verduras

The adjective salada also agrees in gender and number with crema (feminine singular), which is why it’s menos salada, not menos salado.

Why is verduras plural? Could it be crema de verdura?

In Spanish, when you’re talking about a dish made from several vegetables, you normally say:

crema de verduras = cream made from vegetables
sopa de verduras = vegetable soup

The plural verduras fits the idea of a mix of vegetables (carrots, leeks, zucchini, etc.).

Crema de verdura (singular) could be used if you really mean a cream made from one specific vegetable, but then you’d normally name it:

crema de calabacín = courgette/zucchini cream soup
crema de zanahoria = carrot cream soup

So for a general mixed-vegetable cream soup, crema de verduras (plural) is the natural choice.

How does menos salada work? Why is the adjective after the noun, and why feminine?

Menos salada is a comparative structure:

menos + adjective = less + adjective

Here:

salada = salty (feminine singular to agree with crema)
menos salada = less salty

Two key points:

Adjective position
In Spanish, most descriptive adjectives go after the noun:
- una crema salada = a salty cream/soup
With más / menos + adjective, you still keep the adjective agreeing with the noun:
- una crema menos salada = a less salty cream/soup
Agreement
Salada must match crema (feminine, singular):
- crema menos salada (fem. sing.)
- platos menos salados (masc. plural)

Could you say con menos sal instead of menos salada? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can say either, but they focus slightly on different things:

menos salada = less salty
Describes the taste / quality of the dish.
con menos sal = with less salt
Focuses more on the amount of salt used.

Both are natural:

Mi hermana quiere preparar una crema de verduras menos salada.
→ She wants the flavor to be less salty.
Mi hermana quiere preparar una crema de verduras con menos sal.
→ She wants to use less salt in the recipe.

In everyday conversation, they’re often interchangeable, but menos salada is clearly an adjective describing the dish’s taste.

Why is it para la cena and not por la cena?

Para and por can both translate as for in English, but they have different uses.

Here, para la cena expresses purpose / intended occasion:

para la cena = for dinner (to be eaten at dinner)
para el desayuno = for breakfast
para la merienda = for an afternoon snack

Por is not used for this meaning. Por la cena would sound like:

because of the dinner
on account of the dinner

which is not what is meant here.

So:

✅ Una crema de verduras para la cena = a vegetable cream soup for dinner
❌ Una crema de verduras por la cena (wrong in this context)

Why is it la cena and not just para cena?

In Spanish, names of meals usually take the definite article when you refer to them as a general event:

el desayuno = breakfast
la comida (in Spain) = lunch
la cena = dinner

So you normally say:

para la cena
para el desayuno
para la comida

Para cena without the article sounds incomplete or not idiomatic in standard Spanish. A more natural alternative if you don’t want the article is to use the verb:

para cenar = to have for dinner / for dining
- Mi hermana quiere preparar una crema de verduras para cenar.

Both para la cena and para cenar are very common and correct.

Could the word order change? For example, can I say Mi hermana quiere preparar para la cena una crema de verduras menos salada?

Yes, Spanish word order is somewhat flexible, and your alternative is grammatically correct:

Mi hermana quiere preparar para la cena una crema de verduras menos salada.

Differences:

The original:
- Mi hermana quiere preparar una crema de verduras menos salada para la cena.
  → Neutral, very common order.
The alternative:
- …quiere preparar para la cena una crema de verduras menos salada.
  → Slightly more emphasis on “for dinner”, putting the context earlier.

Both sound natural in Spain. The original sentence is probably the most typical everyday word order.