Learn Spanish (Latin America): Ellos piden un tenedor y un cuchillo.

Ellos piden un tenedor y un cuchillo.

They ask for a fork and a knife.

Breakdown of Ellos piden un tenedor y un cuchillo.

to ask for / to order

Questions & Answers about Ellos piden un tenedor y un cuchillo.

Why is the verb piden instead of peden if the dictionary form is pedir?

Pedir is a stem-changing verb. When you conjugate it in the present tense, the e in the stem changes to an i for most subjects (I, you, he/she/it, they). Since ellos means "they," the verb must change to piden.

The translation says "ask for", but I don't see a word for "for" in the Spanish sentence. Why?

The Spanish verb pedir inherently means "to ask for" or "to request." The idea of "for" is already built into the verb itself, so you do not need to add a translation for it (like por or para).

Why doesn't tenedor end in an "o" if it uses the masculine article un?

While many masculine nouns end in -o (like cuchillo), others end in consonants. Tenedor is a masculine word that happens to end in an -r. You just have to memorize its gender, which is why it takes the masculine "a" (un).

How should I pronounce the double "L" in Ellos and cuchillo?

In most of Latin America, the double "L" (ll) makes a "y" sound, very similar to the "y" in the English word "yellow" or "yes."