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Vamos a calentar la cena en la estufa apenas hierva el agua.

Vamos a calentar la cena en la estufa apenas hierva el agua.
We are going to heat the dinner on the stove as soon as the water boils.
From Lesson 338:As soon as (en cuanto, apenas, tan pronto como)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about Vamos a calentar la cena en la estufa apenas hierva el agua.

Why is hierva in the subjunctive here instead of the indicative?
The clause starting with apenas (as soon as) refers to an event that hasn't happened yet (the water boiling). When expressing a pending future event after time conjunctions like apenas, en cuanto, or tan pronto como, Spanish requires the present subjunctive.
What is the infinitive of hierva, and why does it have an 'i' in this form?
The infinitive is hervir (to boil). It is a stem-changing verb where the 'e' changes to 'ie'. In the present subjunctive, it keeps that stem change for all forms except nosotros and vosotros, making the él/ella/usted form hierva.
Wait, isn't water feminine? Why does the sentence say el agua?
Agua is indeed a feminine noun, but it starts with a stressed 'a' sound. To avoid the awkward pronunciation of putting la right next to it, singular feminine nouns starting with a stressed 'a' or 'ha' use the masculine article el. You still use feminine adjectives with it, like el agua fría.
Why is the subject el agua at the very end of the sentence? Can I say apenas el agua hierva?
Saying apenas el agua hierva is grammatically correct, but in Spanish, it is very common and natural to put the subject after the verb in dependent clauses. You will frequently see this inverted word order after time connectors like apenas, cuando, or hasta que.
Is estufa the most common word for stove?
In much of Latin America, particularly in Mexico and Colombia, estufa is the standard word for the kitchen stove. In other regions, including parts of South America and Spain, you might hear cocina used for the appliance as well as the room itself.

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