Pela la patata y la cebolla.

Breakdown of Pela la patata y la cebolla.

y
and
la patata
the potato
la cebolla
the onion
pelar
to peel

Questions & Answers about Pela la patata y la cebolla.

Why is it pela and not pelas if I am telling someone to peel them?
Pela is the affirmative command form for tú (informal you). To tell someone to do something, you normally use the same form as the he/she present tense. So, tú pelas (you peel) loses its -s to become the command pela (peel!).
Do I really need to use la twice? Can I just say la patata y cebolla?
Yes, you should use it twice. In English we can say "the potato and onion", but Spanish generally requires you to repeat the article (el, la, los, las) before each noun in a series.
I previously learned the word papa for potato. Is patata different?
They mean exactly the same thing, but patata is the word used in Spain. In most of Latin America, people say papa. Since you are learning the Spanish of Spain, patata is the best choice here.
How would I say "Peel them" using this verb?
You would say pélalas. In Spanish, when you give a positive command, you attach the object pronoun directly to the end of the verb. Because patata and cebolla are both feminine, you use the feminine plural pronoun las. The accent mark on the é is added to keep the spoken stress on the original syllable.

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