En la carnicería compramos un filete para mi hermano y unas salchichas para la cena del sábado.

Because en means in or at, while a usually means to.

• En la carnicería = in/at the butcher’s shop
• A la carnicería = to the butcher’s shop

So this sentence is describing where the buying happened, not movement toward the shop.

It can mean either, because compramos has the same form in:

• the present tense: we buy
• the preterite: we bought

In this sentence, it will usually be understood as we bought, because it sounds like a completed event: we went to the butcher’s and bought some things.

Spanish often relies on context to tell you which meaning is intended.

Spanish often leaves out subject pronouns when they are not needed.

So instead of saying:

• Nosotros compramos...

it is very natural to say simply:

• Compramos...

The verb ending -amos already tells you the subject is we.

Because the nouns are different in both number and gender:

• filete is masculine singular → un filete
• salchichas is feminine plural → unas salchichas

The article must agree with the noun:

• un = masculine singular
• una = feminine singular
• unos = masculine plural
• unas = feminine plural

In Spanish, unos/unas can work as plural indefinite articles and often mean some.

So:

• unas salchichas = some sausages

It does not mean female sausages. The feminine form unas is only there because salchichas is a feminine noun.

Here para means for in the sense of intended for or meant for someone.

• un filete para mi hermano = a steak for my brother

This does not mean your brother is the direct object of the verb. You are not buying your brother; you are buying a steak, and the steak is intended for him.

That is why Spanish uses para, not a.

Because mi without an accent is the possessive adjective meaning my.

• mi hermano = my brother

Mí with an accent is a pronoun used after prepositions:

• para mí = for me
• de mí = of me

So:

• mi hermano = correct
• mí hermano = incorrect

Because para can also express purpose or intended use.

So:

• unas salchichas para la cena del sábado = some sausages for Saturday dinner

The sausages are intended to be used for that meal.

So in this sentence, para is doing two related jobs:

• para mi hermano = intended for a person
• para la cena del sábado = intended for a purpose/event

Because de + el contracts to del in Spanish.

• de + el = del

So:

• la cena del sábado = the Saturday dinner / dinner on Saturday

This contraction is required in normal Spanish.

A similar contraction happens with a + el = al.

Because Spanish often uses the definite article more than English does.

Here la cena means the dinner, referring to a specific dinner: the one on Saturday.

So:

• la cena del sábado = Saturday dinner / the dinner on Saturday

In English, we often drop the in phrases like Saturday dinner, but Spanish usually keeps it.

Because Spanish normally links the day to the noun with de.

• la cena del sábado literally means the dinner of Saturday
• in natural English, that becomes Saturday dinner or dinner on Saturday

You generally cannot just put the day directly after the noun the way English does.

The accent mark shows where the stress goes: car-ni-ce-RÍ-a.

It also helps show that í-a is pronounced as two syllables rather than blended together. Without the accent, the pronunciation rules would suggest a different stress pattern.

So the written accent tells you the correct pronunciation.

Not always exactly. Filete often means fillet, steak, or a slice/cut of meat, depending on context.

In a sentence like this, un filete is very naturally understood as a piece of meat, often translated as a steak.

As with many food words, the exact translation can vary a little depending on region and context.

Both are possible.

• En la carnicería compramos...
• Compramos en la carnicería...

Starting with En la carnicería puts the location first, a bit like saying:

• At the butcher’s, we bought...

Spanish is often more flexible than English with word order, especially when moving a place phrase to the front for emphasis or for smoother storytelling.

No change is needed here. The normal word for and is y.

Spanish changes y to e only before words that begin with an i sound:

• padre e hijo
• España e Italia

But here the next word is unas, which does not begin with an i sound, so y is correct.

It is standard Spanish and widely understood everywhere, but carnicería is especially normal in Spain for butcher’s shop.

In English, butcher’s often implies the butcher’s shop, and Spanish expresses that idea with la carnicería.

So for Spain, this sounds completely natural.