Seguimos sin decidir dónde poner el salero y el pimentero cuando cenamos en la terraza.

Seguimos is the 1st person plural present tense of seguir, so it means we continue or we still are.

In this sentence, seguir + sin + infinitive is a very common structure:

• seguimos sin decidir = we still haven’t decided / we continue not to decide

It often sounds more natural in Spanish than translating English word for word.

Because after seguir, Spanish normally uses:

• seguir + gerund for an ongoing action
  
  • seguimos pensando = we’re still thinking
• seguir + sin + infinitive for something that has not happened yet
  • seguimos sin decidir = we still haven’t decided

So sin decidir literally means without deciding, but in natural English it usually becomes still haven’t decided.

No decidimos would be a full conjugated verb, and that does not fit after seguimos in this structure.

Because it comes after the preposition sin in the structure seguir sin + infinitive.

So:

• sin decidir = without deciding
• sin saber = without knowing
• sin encontrar = without finding

After prepositions like sin, Spanish normally uses the infinitive, not a conjugated verb.

It has an accent because it is an interrogative/exclamative word, even inside an indirect question.

Here, dónde poner... means:

• where to put...

This is an indirect question, so Spanish still uses the accented form:

• No sé dónde está. = I don’t know where it is.
• Decidimos dónde ponerlo. = We decide where to put it.

Compare:

• dónde = where? / where in a question
• donde = where as a relative word in some other contexts

In this sentence, it is clearly asking where, so dónde is correct.

Both are possible in Spanish, but they mean slightly different things stylistically.

• dónde poner el salero y el pimentero = where to put the salt and pepper shakers
• dónde ponemos el salero y el pimentero = where we put / where we should put the salt and pepper shakers

The infinitive structure is very common after verbs like decidir, saber, pensar, etc. It is compact and natural:

• No sé qué hacer. = I don’t know what to do.
• Estamos pensando dónde sentarnos. = We’re thinking about where to sit.

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

So:

• el salero = the salt shaker
• el pimentero = the pepper shaker

In English, you might sometimes say salt and pepper shakers without articles, but in Spanish it is very normal to include them when referring to specific objects in the situation.

Also, each noun gets its own article here:

• el salero y el pimentero

That is the normal pattern when two separate singular nouns are mentioned.

• salero = salt shaker / salt cellar, depending on context
• pimentero = pepper shaker

In everyday modern usage, many learners will understand them as the container for salt and the container for pepper placed on the table.

A small extra note:

• salero can also mean charm or grace in another context, but here it clearly means the salt container.

This is a very common learner question.

Both forms can exist in Spanish, but they are used differently.

Here: cuando cenamos

This sounds like a habitual/repeated action:

• when we have dinner
• when we eat dinner
• when we dine

So the sentence suggests something like:

• whenever we eat on the terrace, we still haven’t decided where to put the salt and pepper.

Cuando cenemos

This would usually refer more to a specific future occasion:

• when we have dinner (later / next time)

So:

• Seguimos sin decidir dónde poner el salero y el pimentero cuando cenemos en la terraza
  would sound more like we still haven’t decided where to put them when we have dinner on the terrace (in the future).

It is the present indicative, 1st person plural of cenar.

But in Spanish, the present tense is often used for:

• habitual actions
• routines
• general truths

So cuando cenamos en la terraza means something like:

• when we have dinner on the terrace
• when we eat on the terrace

It does not necessarily mean right now.

En la terraza literally means on the terrace or on the patio/terrace, depending on context.

Spanish uses en in many places where English may use:

• in
• on
• at

So you should not try to match en to just one English preposition every time.

Here:

• cenamos en la terraza = we have dinner on the terrace

In Spain, terraza often refers to an outdoor terrace/balcony/patio-type space, depending on the home or setting.

Because Spanish can express still here through the structure seguir + sin + infinitive.

So:

• Seguimos sin decidir... already contains the idea of still not having decided

You could add todavía for extra emphasis in some contexts:

• Todavía seguimos sin decidir...

But very often that would be unnecessary, because seguimos sin already gives that meaning.

The sentence as given is very natural, but Spanish word order is often more flexible than English.

The original order is:

• Seguimos sin decidir dónde poner el salero y el pimentero cuando cenamos en la terraza.

This is natural because it moves from:

1. the ongoing situation (seguimos sin decidir)
2. the thing not decided (dónde poner...)
3. the time/context (cuando cenamos en la terraza)

You could rearrange parts for emphasis, but not every change sounds equally natural. For example:

• Cuando cenamos en la terraza, seguimos sin decidir dónde poner el salero y el pimentero.

This is also correct, but it emphasizes the when we eat on the terrace part first.

Yes, but the tone changes slightly.

• poner = the most neutral and everyday choice: to put
• colocar = more deliberate or formal: to place
• dejar = often to leave something somewhere

So:

• dónde poner el salero y el pimentero sounds the most natural in ordinary conversation.
• dónde colocar... is fine, but a bit more formal or careful.
• dónde dejar... might suggest where to leave them, which is slightly different in nuance.

So poner is probably the best default choice here.