Question 1

In English we say "Do you not eat meat?" Why isn't there a word for "do" in the Spanish sentence?

Accepted Answer

Spanish doesn't use helper words like "do" or "does" to make questions. To turn the statement No comes carne (You don't eat meat) into a question, you simply add question marks and raise your voice at the end: ¿No comes carne?

Question 2

I don't see the words for "you" or "we" here. How do we know who is eating?

Accepted Answer

In Spanish, the ending of the verb tells you who is doing the action. Comes ends in -es, which tells us the subject is tú (you). Comemos ends in -emos, which tells us the subject is nosotros (we). Because the verbs make it clear, the pronouns are safely dropped.

Question 3

Could I use pero (but) here instead of entonces (then/so)?

Accepted Answer

You could, but it completely changes the meaning! Entonces shows a result or a solution: "You don't eat meat? So (as a result) we eat fish." If you used pero, it would sound like a contrast: "You don't eat meat, but we eat fish."

Question 4

Why is it just carne and pescado instead of la carne and el pescado?

Accepted Answer

When talking about consuming an unspecified amount of food or drink, Spanish often leaves out the article (the word for "the"), just like English does. You are asking about eating meat in general, not a specific piece of meat, so comes carne is perfectly natural.

¿No comes carne? Entonces comemos pescado.

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