Unidad 5 – Primera Parte (Part 1)

Vocabulario
(Vocabulary)

El menú en español (The menu in Spanish)

A table with cutlery and a menu in the middle.

En español, los menús en los restaurantes se dividen en cuatro partes:

 

Haz clic en la lista de vocabulario below to learn what they mean in English.

Different drawings of drinks like milk, soda beer, red wine, etc.

1) Los refrescos:

Las bebidas Drinks    
Café / té Coffee/ tea
Agua mineral Mineral water
Jugo de fruta Fruit juice
Limonada Lemonade
Soda Soda
Vino (blanco/tinto) Wine (white/red)
Cerveza Beer
Cóctel Cocktail

A drawing of a cooked Chicken

2) Platos principales:

Carnes Meats
Lomo de res Prime rib
Bistec Steak
Chuleta de puerco Pork chop
Guisado de (carne/pollo) Beef/chicken stew
Pollo (frito/asado) Chicken (fried/roasted)
Los Mariscos Seafood  
Camarones Shrimp
Almejas Clams
Langosta Lobster
Pescado (frito/asado) Fish (fried/roasted)
Las Sopas Soups
Caldo de pollo Chicken soup
Sopa de carne Beef soup
Sopa de mariscos Seafood soup
Sopa de fideos Noodle soup
Gazpacho Gazpacho (cold tomato based soup)

A drawing of a bowl of salad.

3. Platos adicionales:

Platos adicionales Side dishes
Ensalada verde con lechuga y tomate Green salad with lettuce and tomato
Ensalada de papas Potato salad
Papas fritas French fries
Arroz Rice
Frijoles fritos Fried beans
Tortillas Tortillas
Puré de papas Mashed potatoes

Drawings of desserts like: A cupcake, pie, ice-cream and cookies

4. Los postres:

Los Postres Dessert  
Flan Custard
Galletas Cookies
Pastel Cake
Helado (de vainilla/ de chocolate) Ice cream (vanilla/chocolate)

 


Cómo usarlo
(How to use it)

En la unidad 1 you learned that el español differentiates between formal and informal treatment through the use of the pronouns usted y respectively.

también learned that despite some differences in the way Spanish speakers engage with formal vs. informal treatment, a general rule is that within the Spanish-speaking world, these treatments are part of the culture and more or less are determined by the following people to whom we may address:

 

A chart with information on people whom we may address formally and informally.


Entonces, en español, when ordering in a restaurant we tend to prefer polite language and the use of usted when engaging with the server en un restaurante. This treatment will include using words like the following:

  1. podría (usted) = could you
  2. puede (usted)  = can you
  3. (Yo) quisiera    = I would like

Haz clic en la lista de vocabulario below to learn some common expressions used in a restaurant:

¡A practicar!:

Pretend you are at a Spanish-speaking restaurant and make an order including the following things: (make sure to use polite words like the ones above when ordering)

  1. Order a drink
  2. Order a main dish
  3. Order a side dish
  4. Order a dessert

Copy and paste the following letters and symbols as needed.
á é í ó ú ñ Á É Í Ó Ú Ñ ¡ ! ¿ ?

Gramática
(Grammar)

1. Verbos con cambio de vocal[1] en el presente simple indicativo
(Vowel-change verbs in simple present tense)

En la unidad 3 you learned how to conjugate verbos regulares -ar, -er , -ir en el presente simple indicativo.

también learned that in order to conjugate un verbo infinitivo en el presente simple indicativo (simple present tense) the stem will not change, but the ending must be taken out and apply the patterns of conjugation for verbs ending in –ar, -er, -ir previously studied. 

An image showing the components of a verb in infinitive form.

En español some regular verbs ending in -ar, -er, -ir, carry a vowel change in the stem when conjugated en el presente simple indicativo.

These verbos con cambio de vocal (vowel-change verbs) se dividen en 3 categorías:

  1. Verbos that change the vowel from e to i
  2. Verbos that change the vowel from e to ie
  3. Verbos that change the vowel from o to ue

When conjugating los verbos con cambio de vocal en el presente simple indicativo, you do both, change the ending of either -ar, -er, -ir verbs and make the vowel change in the stem of the verb for all subject pronouns except in the following subject pronouns:

  • Nosotros / Nosotras
  • Vos (instead of or alternate with Tú in Latin America)
  • Vosotros / Vosotras (instead of Ustedes in Spain and Equatorial Guinea)

Mira la imagen que sigue to be reminded that the vowel change in the stem of the verb occurs in the subject pronouns inside the boot and does not occur with the pronouns outside the boot:

An image of a boot with subject pronouns with stem vowel change inside the boot and subject pronouns without stem vowel change outside the boot.

1. E to I: Verbos con cambio de vocal from e to i
(Verbs with vowel-change from e to i)

Los verbos que siguen have a vowel change from e to i en el presente simple indicativo:

Vowel Changing verbs (e) to (i)        
Pedir To ask for something
Servir To serve
Repetir To repeat
Conseguir To get, to obtain
Seguir To follow
Sonreír To smile
Vestir To wear

Below you will find an example of the vowel-changing verb “servir” that changes e to i.

  Servir      
Yo sirvo
Tú      sirves
Usted, Él, Ella sirve
Nosotros, Nosotras      servimos (no stem vowel change)
Ustedes, Ellos, Ellas         sirven

2. E to IE: Verbos con cambio de vocal from e to ie
(Verbs with vowel-change from e to ie)

Los verbos que siguen have a vowel change from e to ie en el presente simple indicativo:

Vowel changing verbs (e) to (ie)    
Comenzar (a) To start (to)
Empezar (a) To beging (to)
Entender To understand
Pensar en To think of/in/about
Perder To lose
Preferir To prefer
Querer To want, to love
Sentir To feel
Cerrar To close
Tener (except "yo") To have
Venir (except "yo") To come
Mentir To lie
Sugerir To suggest

Below you will find an example of the vowel-changing verb “sentir” that changes e to ie.

  Sentir      
Yo siento
Tú      sientes
Usted, Él, Ella siente
Nosotros, Nosotras      sentimos (no stem vowel-change)
Ustedes, Ellos, Ellas         sienten

3. O to UE: Verbos con cambio de vocal from o to ue
(Verbs with vowel-change from o to ue)

Los verbos que siguen have a vowel change from o to ue en el presente simple indicativo:

Vowel changing verbs (o) to (ue)    
Dormir To sleep
Almorzar To eat lunch
Encontrar To find
Poder To be able to
Sonar To ring
Soñar (con) To dream (of)
Volver To return
Contar To count, to tell, to narrate
Morir To die
Jugar to play (activities, sports)

Below you will find an example of the vowel-changing verb “dormir” that changes o to ue.

  Dormir      
Yo duermo
Tú      duermes
Usted, Él, Ella duerme
Nosotros, Nosotras      dormimos (no stem vowel-change)
Ustedes, Ellos, Ellas         duermen

¡IMPORTANTE!

Three children playing soccer!

Jugar = means to play a sport, play a game or play with a toy. Jugar is the only vowel-changing verb from u to (ue) and is normally grouped with verbs that change vowel from o to (ue).

2. Los verbos “Poder”, “Preferir” y “Querer”
(Verbs “To be able to”, “To prefer” and “To want”)

Just with like la expresión “tener que” and verbs that express gustos y disgustos (gustar, encantar, interesar, molestar, etc.) los verbos “poder”, “preferir” y “querer” are followed by un verbo en infinitvo.

Por ejemplo:

  • Yo no puedo hablar chino. Yo puedo hablar portugués.
  • Yo prefiero ir al cine los sábados en la noche.
  • Mi amiga Catalina prefiere comer pollo en vez de carne.
  • El próximo verano yo quiero viajar a Colombia.

Preferir y querer can also be followed by objetos.

Por ejemplo:

  • Yo prefiero café porque no me gusta el té.
  • Nosotras queremos galletas.
  • ¿Quieren una cerveza?

¡ATENCIÓN!

As studied above, el verbo poder es un verbo con cambio de raíz (stem vowel-change) from o to ue en el presente simple indicativo. Preferir y querer son verbos con cambio de raíz (stem vowel-change) from e to ie en el presente simple indicativo so when using them you also must apply this stem vowel-change learned above.

¡A practicar!

Note: In Spanish, we have a verb for eating each meal of the day:

Mira el vocabulario del menú learned en la sección de vocabulario above y responde a las preguntas que siguen in full sentence: 

Copy and paste the following letters and symbols as needed.
á é í ó ú ñ Á É Í Ó Ú Ñ ¡ ! ¿ ?

  1. ¿Qué  prefieres  desayunar?
  2. ¿Qué  prefieres almorzar?
  3. ¿Qué quieres comer el fin de semana? (identifica 4 comidas)
  4. ¿Puedes cocinar empanadas? ¿Qué puedes cocinar?

¡Más práctica!

Elige la conjugación correcta de los verbos con cambio de vocal studied.

Cultura hispanohablante
(Spanish-speaking Culture)

Las comidas y platos locales en el mundo hispanohablante
(Local food and dishes in the Spanish-speaking world)

You already learned that las familias en el mundo hispanohablante tend to share similar values on how they build and maintain relationships with others.

también learned that:

  • Las personas hispanohablantes maintain high-contact with los miembros de la familia nuclear y otros parientes.
  • Las personas hispanohablantes maintain high-contact with los amigos y las amigas.

Entonces, la comida es muy important en la cultura hispanohablante as it becomes a means to connect with others, and to form and maintain relationships.

Each Spanish-speaking country has different platos de comida local:

Por ejemplo:

Pictures of food from Spanish Speaking countries: including Paella, churros, tacos, enchiladas, tamales, empanadas.

¿Sabías que…? (Did you know…?)

La sopa de gazpacho (Gazpacho soup) es una sopa fría muy popular en España.

Mira el video que sigue to learn Cómo hacer Gazpacho (how to make Gazpacho) y haz una lista de los ingredientes de la sopa de gaspacho.

En mi opinión

¿Qué plato local learned above would you like to try or order en un restaurante?

Does your culture or country where you live have local dishes? Are any of these dishes similar to los platos locales de países hispanohablantes learned above? Share in English.

 

Media Attributions


  1. Also known as "verbos con cambios de raíz" (stem-changing verbs)
definition

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¡Voy en camino! Copyright © 2023 by Constanza Rojas-Primus and Ana Robles is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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