Preparing the ingredients
To follow a recipe, you will need to understand cooking commands. In Spanish, to tell someone to do something, you use different forms for one person (tú) and multiple people (vosotros / vosotras).
- For tú, you generally use the same form as the él/ella present tense (e.g., pela, bate, añade).
- For vosotros, simply replace the final -r of the infinitive with a -d (e.g., pelad, hervid, añadid).
| Peel the potato and the onion. | Pela la patata y la cebolla. |
| Peel the carrots and boil the water. | Pelad las zanahorias y hervid el agua. |
| Whisk the eggs with the fork. | Bate los huevos con el tenedor. |
| Add the meat to the pot. | Añadid la carne a la olla. |
In the kitchen
Next, let's look at the tools and appliances you will use to cook and eat your meals.
Pay special attention to the noun el microondas (the microwave). Even though it ends in an -s, it is a singular masculine noun.
| My sister does not use the microwave. | Mi hermana no usa el microondas. |
| The water from the fridge does not boil fast. | El agua de la nevera no hierve rápido. |
| My brother does not have a clean spoon. | Mi hermano no tiene una cuchara limpia. |
Recent meals
When talking about what you have cooked today or this week, use the present perfect tense (the present tense of haber plus a past participle).
Most verbs in the kitchen follow regular patterns, such as añadido (added) or usado (used). However, watch out for the verb freír (to fry)—its past participle is irregular: frito (fried).
| Today my father has fried the fish. | Hoy mi padre ha frito el pescado. |
| Today my mother has not added salt to the salad. | Hoy mi madre no ha añadido sal a la ensalada. |
| This week we have used the fridge a lot. | Esta semana hemos usado mucho la nevera. |
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