A2 · Unit 6 · 42 words, 2 texts with translation
Tell a friend how to cook
Cook with friends: name kitchen tools and ingredients, say what to cut, fry and add, and give a friend casual commands like "cut" and "add".
Texts in this unit
Grammar in this unit
Commands for tú: telling a friend what to do
When you cook together, give directions or ask a friend for something, you use commands: "cut", "wait", "look". Spanish has a special command for tú, the one person you talk to informally. Between friends it isn't rude, and with por favor it sounds even softer.
You don't need to learn a new form. The tú command is the same as the él / ella form of the present tense:
| Verb | He / she | tú command |
|---|---|---|
| cortar | corta | ¡Corta! — Cut! |
| comer | come | ¡Come! — Eat! |
| añadir | añade | ¡Añade! — Add! |
If the stem changes in the present tense, it changes the same way in the command: calentar → calienta, remover → remueve, hervir → hierve, freír → fríe, probar → prueba.
- Pela las patatas y corta la cebolla. — Peel the potatoes and cut the onion.
- Espera un poco, por favor. — Wait a little, please.
- Habla más despacio. — Speak more slowly.
- Prueba la tortilla. — Try the tortilla.
Common mistakes.
- Keeping the -s: cortas la cebolla means "you cut the onion" (a statement, not a command). The command is shorter: corta la cebolla.
- Making "don't" from the same form: no corta means "he doesn't cut", not "don't cut". Negative commands have their own forms; you'll learn them at the next level. For now, get by without them: cuidado con el ajo (careful with the garlic), sin ajo, por favor (no garlic, please). And learn the set phrase no te preocupes — don't worry.
This command is only for one person you call tú. Commands for usted and for several people come in unit 15.
Six short commands: ven, pon, di, haz, ten, sal
Six very common verbs have a special short tú command, just one syllable.
| Verb | Command | Example |
|---|---|---|
| venir | ven — come (here) | Ven a la cocina. — Come to the kitchen. |
| poner | pon — put | Pon la sartén al fuego. — Put the frying pan on the heat. |
| decir | di — say, tell | Di la verdad. — Tell the truth. |
| hacer | haz — do, make | Haz una ensalada. — Make a salad. |
| tener | ten — hold, take | Ten cuidado. — Be careful. |
| salir | sal — go out, get out | Sal de la cocina. — Get out of the kitchen. |
How to remember them. All six have a yo form ending in -go (A2, unit 1): vengo, pongo, tengo, salgo, hago, digo. Drop the -go and you get the command: vengo → ven, pongo → pon, tengo → ten, salgo → sal. Two verbs are a little different: hago → haz, digo → di.
Useful phrases:
- pon la mesa — set the table
- haz la compra — do the grocery shopping
- ten cuidado — be careful; ven aquí — come here
Watch out.
ven— come (here, toward me). "Go (over there)" is a different verb, ir. For now, just learn its command ve as a ready-made word: Ve a la tienda — Go to the store.sal— salt: echa sal means "add salt", but Sal de aquí — Get out of here. The words around it always make the meaning clear.- Don't "fix" these forms with the general rule: not pone la mesa (that's "he sets the table"), but pon la mesa; not hace una ensalada, but haz una ensalada.
Words in this unit
el ingrediente — ingredient
¿Tienes todos los ingredientes para la tortilla? — Do you have all the ingredients for the tortilla?
cortar — to cut, to chop
Corta la cebolla en trozos pequeños. — Cut the onion into small pieces.
añadir — to add
Añade un poco de sal. — Add a little salt.
mezclar — to mix
Mezcla bien los huevos con las patatas. — Mix the eggs well with the potatoes.
echar — to put in, to add, to pour
Echa un poco de aceite en la sartén. — Pour a little oil into the frying pan.
freír — to fry
Fríe las patatas diez minutos. — Fry the potatoes for ten minutes.
calentar — to heat, to warm up
Calienta el aceite en la sartén. — Heat the oil in the frying pan.
listo — ready, smart
¿Ya está lista la comida? — Is the food ready yet?
cuidado — careful!, care
¡Cuidado, la sartén está muy caliente! — Careful, the frying pan is very hot!
despacio — slowly
Remueve despacio. — Stir slowly.
poco a poco — little by little, gradually
Añade la harina poco a poco. — Add the flour little by little.
no te preocupes — don't worry
No te preocupes, yo friego los platos. — Don't worry, I'll do the dishes.
¡que aproveche! — enjoy your meal
La tortilla ya está lista. ¡Que aproveche! — The tortilla is ready. Enjoy your meal!
perfecto — perfect, great
La tortilla está perfecta. — The tortilla is perfect.
la sartén — frying pan, pan
Pon la sartén al fuego. — Put the frying pan on the heat.
la olla — pot
Pon agua en la olla. — Put water in the pot.
el cuchillo — knife
¿Me das un cuchillo, por favor? — Can you give me a knife, please?
la cuchara — spoon
Remueve con una cuchara. — Stir with a spoon.
el tenedor — fork
Falta un tenedor en la mesa. — There's a fork missing on the table.
el horno — oven
El pollo está en el horno. — The chicken is in the oven.
el fuego — fire, heat, burner
Pon la olla al fuego. — Put the pot on the heat.
la cebolla — onion
Pela la cebolla. — Peel the onion.
el ajo — garlic
Añade un ajo. — Add a clove of garlic.
la harina — flour
Necesito harina y huevos. — I need flour and eggs.
pelar — to peel
Pela las patatas. — Peel the potatoes.
batir — to beat, to whisk
Bate los huevos en un plato. — Beat the eggs in a dish.
remover — to stir
Remueve la sopa con la cuchara. — Stir the soup with the spoon.
hervir — to boil
El agua hierve. — The water is boiling.
quemar — to burn
¡Cuidado, que quema! — Careful, it burns!
el trozo — piece
Corta la cebolla en trozos. — Cut the onion into pieces.
salado — salty
La tortilla está muy salada. — The tortilla is very salty.
dulce — sweet
Me gusta el café dulce. — I like sweet coffee.
crudo — raw
El pollo todavía está crudo. — The chicken is still raw.
la tapa — lid
Pon la tapa en la olla. — Put the lid on the pot.
la mantequilla — butter
Pongo mantequilla en el pan. — I put butter on the bread.
la pimienta — pepper, black pepper
Echa sal y pimienta. — Put in salt and pepper.
la cucharada — tablespoon, spoonful
Añade dos cucharadas de aceite. — Add two tablespoons of oil.
la pizca — pinch
Una pizca de sal. — A pinch of salt.
el delantal — apron
Mi abuela cocina con delantal. — My grandmother cooks in an apron.
tortilla de patatas — Spanish omelet (tortilla)
Hoy hacemos tortilla de patatas. — Today we're making a Spanish omelet.
dar la vuelta — to turn over, to flip
Da la vuelta a la tortilla con un plato. — Flip the tortilla with a plate.
el litro — liter
Un litro de leche, por favor. — A liter of milk, please.
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