Starting the Day
Expand your daily vocabulary with common meals and ingredients. Let's start with el desayuno (breakfast).
| I am preparing breakfast. | Estoy preparando el desayuno. |
Common items include el huevo (egg), el tomate (tomato), and la patata (potato). These nouns easily follow verbs you already know, like querer (to want) and cocinar (to cook).
| Do you want an egg for breakfast? | ¿Quieres un huevo para el desayuno? |
| We are cooking the potatoes and the tomatoes. | Estamos cocinando las patatas y los tomates. |
Fish and Rice
When talking about fish as food, use el pescado. This comes from the verb pescar (to fish) and distinguishes it from a live fish swimming in the water, which is called a pez.
| I do not eat meat, I prefer fish. | No como carne, prefiero el pescado. |
Combine it with el arroz (rice) for a classic pairing.
| We always eat rice with fish. | Siempre comemos arroz con pescado. |
Drinks
Talk about beverages using el vino (wine) and la cerveza (beer) alongside verbs like beber (to drink).
| Sir, do you want to drink wine? | Señor, ¿quiere beber vino? |
| They are drinking cold beer. | Ellos están bebiendo cerveza fría. |
Fruits, Vegetables, and Preferences
Round out your grocery list with la fruta (fruit) and la verdura (vegetable).
| We are buying the fruit and the vegetables. | Estamos comprando la fruta y las verduras. |
When talking about foods you like or dislike in general, Spanish requires the definite article (el, la, los, or las).
Remember that gustar matches the thing being liked, not the person eating it. Use gusta for singular items and gustan for plurals.
| Do you guys like beer? | ¿Os gusta la cerveza? |
| I do not like vegetables. | No me gustan las verduras. |
