When students learn a language, the tendency is to want to translate word for word. That can work in some situations, but in order to become fluent, students have to speak in thoughts rather than individual words. Often, strictly literal translations will sound stilted and awkward. For example, Spanish does not use a verb that means to like. Instead, we use indirect object pronouns with the verb gustar to talk about things that are pleasing to different people. We are going to be practicing this along with our vocabulary for la comida.
Another tricky thing about food vocabulary is that each region has its own word for different types of food. The same word may not mean the same thing. The word tortilla in México refers to a type of thin pancake made of corn or flour. A tortilla in Spain is more like an omelet with onions and potatoes. Pasteles are cakes in México, but more like tamales in Puerto Rico. And the words for fruits and veggies vary even more! These are some of the phrases and words that we are learning, with occasional variations:
¿Te gusta comer __food__?—To you is it pleasing to
eat _________? (Do you like to eat _____?)
¿Te gusta beber __beverage__?—To you is it pleasing
to drink _________? (Do you like to drink _____?)
Sí, me gusta beber/comer ______________.—Yes, to me it is
pleasing to eat/drink ________.
No, no me gusta beber/comer ________________.—No, to me it
is not pleasing to drink/eat _________.
El agua—water
El arroz—rice
La banana (el
plátano, el guineo)—banana
La carne—meat
El chocolate—chocolate
Los
dulces—candies
La ensalada—salad
Las
fresas—strawberries
La fruta—fruit
Las
galletas—cookies
La
hamburguesa—hamburger
El helado—ice
cream
Los huevos—eggs
El jamón—ham
El jugo—juice
La leche—milk
La manzana—apple
La naranja (la
china)—orange
El pan—bread
La papa (la
patata)—potato
El pollo—chicken
El queso—cheese
La
sandía—watermelon
El
sándwich—sandwich
La sopa—soup
El tomate—tomato
Las uvas—grapes
Los vegetales
(las verduras)—vegetables
