La dependienta me dio una bolsa con nueces y avellanas para la merienda del viaje.

La dependienta means the shop assistant / saleswoman. It is specifically feminine, so it refers to a female worker in a shop.

• el dependiente = male shop assistant
• la dependienta = female shop assistant

In Spain, dependiente/dependienta is a very common word for someone serving customers in a store.

Me is an indirect object pronoun meaning to me.

So:

• dio = gave
• me dio = gave me / gave to me

Spanish often uses these short pronouns instead of saying a mí unless extra emphasis is needed.

Dio is the preterite form of dar, and it is used for a completed action in the past:

• La dependienta me dio... = the shop assistant gave me...

This sounds like one finished event.

Daba would be the imperfect, which is used more for repeated actions, background description, or an ongoing past situation:

• La dependienta me daba bolsas... = the shop assistant used to give me bags...

So dio is the natural choice here because this is one specific completed action.

Because dio is treated as a one-syllable word in standard spelling, and Spanish normally does not put accent marks on one-syllable words unless they need a distinguishing accent.

So the correct spelling is:

• dio ✔
• dió ✘

The same happens with forms like fue and vio.

Una bolsa con nueces y avellanas means a bag with walnuts and hazelnuts.

Here, con means with, and it describes what was inside the bag.

This is very natural Spanish:

• una bolsa con caramelos
• una caja con fotos
• un plato con arroz

You may also hear una bolsa de nueces y avellanas in some contexts, but con clearly emphasizes that the bag contains those things.

• nueces = walnuts
• avellanas = hazelnuts

Be careful with nuez: in everyday translation exercises it usually means walnut, even though in some broader contexts frutos secos is the general category for nuts.

It means something like for the trip snack or for a snack during the journey.

Breakdown:

• para = for
• la merienda = the snack / afternoon snack
• del viaje = of the trip / during the trip

So the idea is that the bag of nuts was intended to be eaten as the snack for the journey.

Merienda is a very common Spanish word, especially in Spain. It refers to a light meal or snack, often eaten in the afternoon between lunch and dinner.

It does not match perfectly with one single English word, because in Spanish culture it can be a more established eating moment than just a random snack.

In this sentence, though, snack is the best simple translation.

Because de + el contracts to del.

So:

• de + el = del
• a + el = al

That means:

• la merienda del viaje = the snack of the trip / the trip snack

This contraction is required unless el is part of a proper name, such as El Escorial.

It most naturally describes merienda.

So the structure is:

• una bolsa con nueces y avellanas = a bag with walnuts and hazelnuts
• para la merienda del viaje = for the trip snack

In other words, the nuts and hazelnuts are intended for the snack during the journey, not that the bag itself is somehow of the trip.

Spanish often places the indirect object pronoun (me, te, le, nos, etc.) before the conjugated verb.

So:

• La dependienta me dio...
• literally: The shop assistant to-me gave...
• natural English: The shop assistant gave me...

This is the normal word order in Spanish with pronouns.

Yes, but the meaning changes.

• La dependienta me dio una bolsa... = The shop assistant gave me a bag...
• La dependienta dio una bolsa... = The shop assistant gave a bag...

Without me, the sentence no longer says who received the bag. So me is necessary if you want to say gave me.

Spanish often uses the definite article more than English does, especially with meals, body parts, and general nouns.

So la merienda is perfectly natural here. It refers to the snack as a known eating occasion.

English might simply say for the trip snack or for a snack on the trip, but Spanish commonly keeps the article:

• para la cena
• para el desayuno
• para la merienda

Yes. A few natural alternatives are:

• La dependienta me dio una bolsa de nueces y avellanas para merendar durante el viaje.
• La dependienta me dio una bolsa con nueces y avellanas para el viaje.
• La dependienta me dio una bolsa con nueces y avellanas para comer durante el viaje.

The original sentence is completely correct, but these alternatives may sound slightly more natural depending on context. The original especially highlights the snack time aspect with la merienda.