Learn Spanish (Latin America): Ustedes piden la cena en el restaurante.

Ustedes piden la cena en el restaurante.

You guys order dinner at the restaurant.

Breakdown of Ustedes piden la cena en el restaurante.

Questions & Answers about Ustedes piden la cena en el restaurante.

Why is the verb spelled piden with an 'i' if the infinitive is pedir?

Pedir is a stem-changing verb. For these types of verbs, the letter 'e' in the stem changes to an 'i' in most forms of the present tense. Instead of 'peden', it becomes piden. The only forms that do not make this change are nosotros (we) and vosotros (you all, Spain).

Does pedir mean 'to order' or 'to ask for'?

It means both! In Spanish, you 'ask for' your food when you are at a restaurant. So, while pedir generally translates to 'to ask for', in the context of food, drinks, or purchases, it is the standard way to say 'to order'.

Why does 'you guys order' use piden, which is the same form used for 'they order'?

In Latin America, ustedes is the standard word for 'you guys' or 'you all' (plural 'you'). Even though it means 'you', grammatically it always pairs with the exact same verb endings as ellos and ellas (they).

The English translation says 'at the restaurant', but the Spanish sentence uses en. Doesn't en mean 'in'?

En is a very flexible preposition! It can mean 'in', 'on', or 'at' depending on the context. When talking about being physically located at a place like a restaurant, en is the correct word to use.