Breakdown of El cocinero prepara una paella.
un
a, an, some
preparar
to prepare
la paella
the paella
el cocinero
the cook, the chef
Questions & Answers about El cocinero prepara una paella.
Why does the sentence use prepara instead of está preparando if it means "is preparing"?
In Spanish, the simple present tense (prepara) is often used to describe actions happening right now, so it can translate to either "prepares" or "is preparing". While you could say está preparando to heavily emphasize that he is in the middle of making it right this second, the simple present is used much more often in Spanish than in English for ongoing actions.
Is cocinero related to the word for kitchen?
Yes, it belongs to a very common word family! It comes from the verb cocinar (to cook). You might also recognize la cocina, which means both "the kitchen" and "the cuisine". If the cook were a woman, you would simply change the article and the ending to make it la cocinera.
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