A1 · Unit 5 · 46 words, 2 texts with translation
Decide what to cook for dinner
Talk about what you eat and drink and what you like, and buy groceries.
Texts in this unit
Grammar in this unit
Gustar: saying what you like
Spanish doesn't say "I like coffee" with yo gusto. It's built the other way around: coffee pleases me. So the verb is almost always gusta (one thing pleases) or gustan (several things please), and the person who likes it is shown by a short word before the verb: me, te, le, nos, os, les.
| Who likes it | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I | me | Me gusta el café. (I like coffee.) |
| you | te | Te gusta el pan. (You like bread.) |
| he / she / you (formal) | le | Le gusta la leche. (He likes milk.) |
| we | nos | Nos gusta el pollo. (We like chicken.) |
| you (plural) | os | Os gusta el queso. (You like cheese.) |
| they / you (plural formal) | les | Les gusta el pescado. (They like fish.) |
- One thing or an infinitive → gusta: Me gusta el chocolate. (I like chocolate.) / Me gusta cocinar. (I like to cook.)
- Several things → gustan: Me gustan las manzanas. (I like apples.)
- To say you don't like something, put no before me: No me gusta la carne. (I don't like meat.)
- Unlike English, Spanish uses the article here: Me gusta el café — "I like coffee", with no "the" in English.
- To stress or make clear who likes it, add a mí, a ti, a Pablo, a mis padres: A mi madre le gusta el té. (My mother likes tea.) / A mí me gusta, ¿y a ti? (I like it, and you?) The short word (le, me) stays.
- Encantar (to love, to like a lot) works the same way: Me encanta el jamón. Nos encantan las patatas. (I love ham. We love potatoes.)
- Agreeing: Me gusta el pan. — A mí también. (I like bread. — Me too.) / No me gusta la carne. — A mí tampoco. (I don't like meat. — Me neither.)
Indefinite articles: un, una, unos, unas
The definite article (el, la) points to a specific thing. The indefinite article (un, una) means "a" or "one". When you mention something for the first time or order it, you usually need un or una, just like English "a".
| Masculine | Feminine | |
|---|---|---|
| one | un café | una manzana |
| some | unos huevos | unas naranjas |
- un / una — "a, one": Quiero un café. Tengo una naranja. (I want a coffee. I have an orange.)
- unos / unas — "some, a few": Compro unos tomates y unas manzanas. (I'm buying some tomatoes and some apples.)
- The article agrees with the gender of the noun. Words ending in -o are usually masculine, words ending in -a feminine: un huevo, una cena. Exception: el agua is a feminine word, but it takes el (an adjective after it is still feminine: el agua fría, cold water).
- With food in general, when there's no amount, there's often no article, like in English: Como pan. Bebo agua. (I eat bread. I drink water.)
- Compare: Me gusta el pan (bread in general) and Quiero un pan (one loaf of bread).
Negation: no... nada, tampoco
Spanish uses a double negative, and it's correct: if nada or tampoco comes after the verb, you must also put no before the verb. In standard English "I don't want nothing" is wrong, but in Spanish no quiero nada is the right way to say it.
| Positive | Negative |
|---|---|
| Como algo. (I eat something.) | No como nada. (I don't eat anything.) |
| Yo también bebo vino. (I drink wine too.) | Yo tampoco bebo vino. / No bebo vino tampoco. (I don't drink wine either.) |
- No quiero nada. — I don't want anything.
- No me gusta el pescado. — A mí tampoco. — I don't like fish. — Me neither. To agree with a negative sentence, answer with tampoco, not también.
- ¿Quieres algo? — Nada, gracias. (Do you want anything? — Nothing, thanks.) As a one-word answer, nada doesn't need no.
- De nada means "you're welcome" (the answer to gracias).
Words in this unit
la comida — food, lunch
La comida española me gusta mucho. — I really like Spanish food.
gustar — to like
Me gusta el café con leche. — I like coffee with milk.
comer — to eat, to have lunch
Como pan con queso. — I eat bread with cheese.
beber — to drink
Bebo mucha agua. — I drink a lot of water.
el agua — water
Un vaso de agua, por favor. — A glass of water, please.
el pan — bread
Compro pan cada mañana. — I buy bread every morning.
la leche — milk
Tomo café con leche. — I have coffee with milk.
la carne — meat
No como carne. — I don't eat meat.
el pollo — chicken
El pollo con arroz es muy rico. — Chicken with rice is very tasty.
el pescado — fish (as food)
Los viernes comemos pescado. — On Fridays we eat fish.
la fruta — fruit
Como fruta todos los días. — I eat fruit every day.
la verdura — vegetables
Como verdura todos los días. — I eat vegetables every day.
mí — me (after a preposition)
A mí me gusta el té. — As for me, I like tea.
le — (to) him, (to) her, (to) you (formal)
A mi madre le gusta el té. — My mother likes tea.
les — (to) them, (to) you (plural, formal)
A mis padres les gusta el pescado. — My parents like fish.
nos — (to) us
Nos gusta la comida española. — We like Spanish food.
os — (to) you (plural)
¿Os gusta el pescado? — Do you like fish? (to several people)
tampoco — not... either, neither
No me gusta el té. — A mí tampoco. — I don't like tea. — Me neither.
encantar — to love (to like a lot)
Me encanta el chocolate. — I love chocolate.
bueno — good, tasty
El café es muy bueno. — The coffee is very good.
malo — bad
El pescado está malo. — The fish is bad.
rico — tasty, rich
La tortilla está muy rica. — The tortilla is very tasty.
el desayuno — breakfast
El desayuno es a las ocho. — Breakfast is at eight.
la cena — dinner
La cena es a las nueve. — Dinner is at nine.
el huevo — egg
Un huevo frito, por favor. — A fried egg, please.
el queso — cheese
Pan con queso, por favor. — Bread with cheese, please.
el jamón — ham, cured ham
El jamón serrano es muy rico. — Serrano ham is very tasty.
el arroz — rice
Pollo con arroz, por favor. — Chicken with rice, please.
la manzana — apple
Una manzana al día. — An apple a day.
la naranja — orange
Una naranja, por favor. — An orange, please.
el plátano — banana
Un plátano y una manzana. — A banana and an apple.
el tomate — tomato
Pan con tomate y aceite. — Bread with tomato and oil.
la patata — potato
Pollo con patatas. — Chicken with potatoes.
la ensalada — salad
Una ensalada mixta, por favor. — A mixed salad, please.
el azúcar — sugar
Café con azúcar. — Coffee with sugar.
la sal — salt
Falta sal. — It needs salt.
el aceite — oil, olive oil
Pan con aceite. — Bread with oil.
el chocolate — chocolate
Me encanta el chocolate. — I love chocolate.
unos — some, a few
Compro unos tomates y unas naranjas. — I'm buying some tomatoes and some oranges.
nada — nothing, anything
No quiero nada. — I don't want anything.
cocinar — to cook
Me gusta cocinar. — I like to cook.
el kilo — kilo
Un kilo de tomates, por favor. — A kilo of tomatoes, please.
la botella — bottle
Una botella de agua, por favor. — A bottle of water, please.
¡buen provecho! — enjoy your meal!
¡Buen provecho, Pablo! — Gracias, Ana. — Enjoy your meal, Pablo! — Thanks, Ana.
para — for, (in order) to
Una mesa para dos, por favor. — A table for two, please.
mañana — tomorrow
Mañana es sábado. — Tomorrow is Saturday.
Learn these words with flashcards
In the app, the unit’s words come to your flashcards a few at a time and repeat until they stick, and the texts show them in use. 15 minutes a day.
Start for freeEverything is open for free. No card needed to sign up.