Beginners’ Spanish: food and drink
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Beginners’ Spanish: food and drink
Introduction
This free OpenLearn course, Beginners' Spanish: food and drink, requires some basic knowledge of Spanish. You will be able to use some basic vocabulary relating to food, drinks, meals, quantities and measures. You will also have the opportunity to practise how to order a meal, go shopping and pay for food. You will listen to Spanish speakers in a variety of situations, and you will learn skills for coping with extended listening. Cultural notes also explain about customs to do with meals and food shopping in Spain.
This OpenLearn course is an adapted extract from the Open University course L194 Portales: beginners' Spanish.
Learning outcomes
After studying this course, you should be able to:
take part in simple exchanges when buying food in shops or at the market in Spain
understand basic information about prices and quantities in Spanish
order food and drinks in a bar or restaurant using Spanish
ask for the bill in Spanish
have a better understanding of some customs relating to food shopping and meals in Spain.
Actividad 1
Markets in Spain and Latin America are full of vibrant colours, noise, scents and fresher products than you would find in most supermarkets. In this activity you will practise how to shop for recipe ingredients.
A
Pilar, a regular customer at the market, is comparing prices in the frutería before she buys anything. Listen to the following audio track and write down the prices you hear, as in the example.
Escucha y escribe.
Transcript: Fruit and vegetables
Here’s someone asking about the price of fruit and vegetables.
—¿Cuánto valen los plátanos?
—Uno cincuenta el kilo.
—¿A cuánto están los limones?
—Los limones a uno veinte el kilo.
—¿Cuánto vale el kilo de patatas?
—Setenta céntimos.
—¿A cuánto está el kilo de tomates?
—A uno setenta.
—¿Y cuánto cuesta esta lechuga?
—La lechuga noventa céntimos. Pero ¿compra o no compra?
Ejemplo
Answer
- plátanos – uno cincuenta el kilo (€1,50)limones – uno veinte el kilo (€1,20)
- patatas – setenta céntimos el kilo (€0,70)
- tomates – uno setenta el kilo (€1,70)
- lechuga – noventa céntimos (€0,90)
Language: Asking for prices
Here are some useful expressions to ask for prices when shopping for food.
| ¿Cuánto es? | How much is it? |
| ¿Cuánto vale / cuesta? | How much does it cost? |
| ¿Cuánto valen / cuestan? | How much do they cost? |
When asking the price of goods whose prices fluctuate daily, like fish or fruit in markets, the following expressions are used.
| ¿A cuánto está el bacalao? | How much is cod going for (today)? |
| ¿A cuánto están las cerezas? | How much are cherries (today)? |
Comment
The verb valer, commonly used to ask for prices, means literally ‘to be worth’. It is also used very frequently in the following expressions.
| Vale la pena. | It is worth it. |
| No vale la pena. | It is not worth it. |
B
Now listen to the audio track below and follow the prompts to ask for the prices of the items you hear.
Escucha y habla.
Transcript: Prices
Use the prompts to ask the price of each item.
Ejemplo
(calamares)
¿Cuánto cuestan los calamares?
or
¿Cuánto valen los calamares?
Now it’s your turn.
(huevos)
—¿Cuánto cuestan los huevos?
(mantequilla)
—¿Cuánto cuesta la mantequilla?
(queso de cabra)
—¿Cuánto cuesta el queso de cabra?
(madalenas)
—¿Cuánto valen las madalenas?
(chorizo)
—¿Cuánto vale el chorizo?
(pollo)
—¿Cuánto cuesta el pollo?
C
Here is some vocabulary for items of food that you may want to buy. Match the phrases in Spanish with the relevant products.
Relaciona.
- una botella de aceite
- una caja de galletas
- una bolsa de patatas fritas
- una bandeja de dulces
- un paquete de arroz
- una lata de atún
Answer
1–(e); 2–(b); 3–(c); 4–(f); 5–(d); 6–(a).
D
Listen to the following audio track and match the quantities listed below with the relevant products, as you hear them mentioned. Which quantity or product has not been mentioned?
Escucha y relaciona.
Transcript: Shopkeeper and customer
Listen to this dialogue between a shopkeeper and a customer.
—¿Qué le pongo?
—Me da cien gramos de queso.
—Sí. ¿Algo más?
—Sí, un cuarto de jamón.
—¿Otra cosita?
—Sí, un kilo de zanahorias y un kilo de plátanos.
—¿Algo más?
—Hmm… Ah sí. Un litro de leche y media docena de huevos, por favor.
—¿Es todo?
—Eh… sí. ¿Cuánto es, por favor?
- 100 gramos de…
- un cuarto de kilo de…
- medio kilo de…
- un kilo de…
- un litro de….
- media docena de…
Answer
1–(c); 2–(d); 4–(b) and (e); 5–(a); 6–(f).
The quantity that was not mentioned was medio kilo.
Comment
Weights and measures are metric in all Spanish-speaking countries, so when someone says un cuarto de or medio de it is assumed that it is a quarter of a kilo or half a kilo.
Language: Weights and quantities
Here are some of the more common phrases used to talk about weights and quantities when shopping.
| un kilo de fresas | a kilo of strawberries |
| medio kilo de carne picada | half a kilo of mince |
| un cuarto de kilo de queso de cabra | a quarter of a kilo of goat's cheese |
| un litro de aceite de oliva | a litre of olive oil |
| una docena de huevos | a dozen eggs |
| media docena de huevos | half a dozen eggs |
| una lata de espárragos | a tin of asparagus |
| una caja de bombones | a box of chocolates |
| una bolsa de magdalenas | a bag of fairy cakes |
| un paquete de azúcar | a packet of sugar |
| una bandeja de canapés | a tray of canapés |
| una botella de zumo de naranja | a bottle of orange juice |
Actividad 2
In this activity you will listen to quantities and prices being talked about while shopping at a market.
A
Verónica is retired and often does some shopping for her elderly neighbour. Here she goes to the market. Listen to the following audio track and write down the prices and quantities of all the items she buys.
Escucha y escribe .
Transcript: Vero in the market
Listen to Vero buying some things in the market for her elderly neighbour.
Vero Me pone doscientos cincuenta gramos de aceitunas, medio kilo de chorizo y doscientos gramos de jamón serrano, por favor. ¿Cuánto es?
Propietario A ver… doscientos cincuenta gramos de aceitunas son tres euros sesenta… medio kilo de chorizo son siete euros noventa y doscientos gramos de jamón son seis euros cincuenta. En total…
Propietaria Hola, buenos días. ¿Qué le pongo?
Vero A ver… ¿Cuánto cuestan las gambas?
Propietaria ¿Las gambas? Trece euros el kilo.
Vero Me pone un kilo de gambas.
Vero Hola. ¿Me pone dos pollos, por favor? Los pollos valen cinco euros cada uno ¿verdad?
Propietaria Sí, señora, en total diez euros. ¿Algo más?
Vero Ah sí… un kilo y medio de lomo de ternera. ¿Cuánto cuesta el kilo?
Propietaria El lomo de ternera está caro hoy. Está a ocho euros el kilo. ¿Le pongo?
Vero Sí por favor. Aquí tiene. Son veintidós euros ¿no?
Propietario Tomates, tomates, pimientos a un euro el kilo ¡venga!
Vero Ah, muy buen precio. Me pone un kilo de tomates y medio kilo de pimientos verdes, por favor.
Answer
| Item | Quantity | Total price |
|---|---|---|
| aceitunas | 250 g | €3,60 |
| chorizo | ½ kg | €7,90 |
| jamón serrano | 200 g | €6,50 |
| gambas | 1 kg | €13 |
| pollo | 2 | €10 |
| lomo de ternera | 1½ kg | €12 (“a 8 euros el kilo”) |
| tomates | 1 kg | €1 |
| pimientos | ½ kg | €0,50 |
Language: Shopping for food
Here are some useful phrases that you will need to use or understand when shopping for food.
| ¿Qué le pongo? / ¿Qué le doy? | What can I get you? (lit. What shall I give you?) |
| ¿Qué desea? | What would you like? |
| Me pone… / Me da… | Can I have… |
| ¿Algo más? / ¿Otra cosita? | Anything else? |
| ¿Qué más quiere? | What else would you like? |
| Nada más. ¿Cuánto es? | Nothing else. How much is it? |
B
Now it’s time to make your own shopping list and practise asking for things.
Think of a favourite recipe and make a list of the products and the amounts you need to cook it. Look up any words you don’t know in the dictionary. Think of the expressions needed to ask how much each of the products on your list costs and to ask for the required amounts. Practise saying them aloud, paying particular attention to the intonation.
Haz una lista y habla.
Actividad 3
In this activity you will learn how to pronounce the sounds /p/, /t/ and /k/ correctly in Spanish.
A
Listen to the following audio track and repeat the following words.
Escucha y repite.
Transcript: Pronunciation
Listen and repeat, pronouncing each word carefully.
pescado, carne, cordero, cuarto de kilo, charcutería, cosita, cuánto
pescado • carne • cordero • cuarto de kilo • charcutería • cosita • cuánto
Language: The pronunciation of the sounds /p/, /t/ and /k/
In Spanish these sounds correspond to the following spellings.
| Sound | Spelling | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| /p/ | p | pasa, pera, pimiento, pulpo |
| /t/ | t | tomate, patata, atún |
| /k/ | c (+ a, o, u) qu (+ i, e) k | casa, poco quien, queso kilo |
Note that if you pronounce these sounds in Spanish whilst holding a piece of paper in front of your mouth, the paper should not move at all.
B
Listen to the following audio track and repeat the words and phrases, paying attention to the pronunciation of the letters ‘p’, ‘t’ and ‘c’. Then repeat the sentences, imitating the pronunciation of the speaker. You may wish to use the transcript.
Escucha y repite.
Transcript: Pronouncing p, t and c
Listen and repeat, paying attention to the pronunciation of the letters ‘p’, ‘t’ and ‘c’.
pescado, pollo, parmesano, patatas, pimientos, plátanos, tapas, tomates, ternera, tocino, tenemos, tostado, tomillo, estómago, cuánto, cuesta
Tenemos pescado y pollo.
Compramos patatas, pimientos y plátanos.
Tomamos tapas, ternera con tocino y tomates.
¿Cuánto cuesta el tomillo?
Preferimos el pan tostado.
The following feature, Español de bolsillo, provides recordings of key phrases to help you with revision.
Transcript: How much?
Español de bolsillo
¿Cuánto cuestan los tomates?
¿Cuánto cuesta la mantequilla?
¿Cuánto valen las gambas?
¿Cuánto vale la lechuga?
Cien gramos de jamón serrano.
Un cuarto de kilo de queso manchego.
Medio kilo de limones.
Un litro de leche.
Media docena de huevos.
Nada más, gracias.
¿Cuánto es?
Actividad 4
You are now going to listen to a radio documentary about the Mercado Central in Valencia.
Read the following questions. Then listen to the audio track below and answer them in English.
Escucha y contesta.
Transcript: En portada
Now it’s time for another programme in our documentary series En portada. This one is about the market hall in Valencia, El Mercado Central, where the architecture, atmosphere and the quality of the fresh produce makes shopping there a unique experience.
Presentadora Bienvenidos a En portada. En el programa de hoy vamos de compras al Mercado Central de Valencia. ¿Tienen la lista de la compra preparada? ¡Pues vamos!
El Mercado Central está en el centro de Valencia, muy cerca de la Plaza del Ayuntamiento. ¡Es enorme! Es el mercado de productos frescos más grande de toda Europa.
El edificio es precioso: es de principios del siglo XX y su estilo es modernista.
En las calles del Mercado hay puestos donde venden fruta y verdura, pescado y marisco, carne y charcutería, especias, frutos secos, flores…
Vamos a hablar con algunos clientes sobre sus hábitos de compra.
Entrevistadora ¿Dónde hace la compra normalmente?
Entrevistado 1 Compro aquí en el Mercado Central y algunas veces también compro en el supermercado.
Entrevistadora ¿Dónde haces la compra normalmente?
Entrevistada 2 A veces voy a un supermercado, pero la fruta y la verdura la compro siempre aquí.
Entrevistada 3 Bueno, la verdura y la carne en el Mercado.
Entrevistada 4 Normalmente la verdura y la fruta en el Mercado, y el resto en el supermercado.
Presentadora La gente compra aquí porque hay más variedad, los productos son más frescos, y los precios son económicos. Los clientes nos explican por qué vienen al Mercado.
Entrevistado 1 Porque hay más variedad, hay más… está más barato.
Entrevistada 2 Porque hay más donde elegir. Encuentras ofertas…
Entrevistado 5 Las cosas más frescas y mucha más calidad.
Presentadora La región de Valencia es famosa por su huerta, donde se cultivan frutas y verduras de calidad superior, que exporta a todo el mundo.
Muchos vendedores de los puestos del Mercado tienen su huerta y venden los productos que cultivan.
El Mercado simboliza la tradición de la región y también simboliza el progreso: fue el primer mercado del mundo en utilizar internet para vender sus productos. Nos habla una empleada del servicio de atención al cliente.
Entrevistadora ¿Cuál es la dirección de internet?
Empleada Nuestra dirección es www.mercadocentralvalencia.es
Entrevistadora ¿Qué tipo de gente compra por internet?
Empleada Suelen ser empresarios, comerciantes… Gente de treinta a cuarenta años.
Presentadora La compra por internet de productos del Mercado empieza en el año 1996, y funciona muy bien.
A ver, tengo que hacer la compra. ¿Cuál es la dirección? www.mercadocentralvalencia.es. Bien. ¡Huy, qué página web tan bonita!
Historia, puestos, servicios del Mercado, recetas aquí, compra por internet… ¡Aquí está! Tengo que registrarme: nombre, edad… ya está. Bueno, pues la lista de la compra: quiero un kilo de limones, un kilo de tomates, un kilo de peras…
- How big is the market?
- What produce is sold in the market?
- Why do people go to the market instead of the supermarket?
- In what way was the market a world first?
Answer
- It is enormous - the biggest fresh food market in Europe.
- Fruit, vegetables, fish, seafood, meat, charcuterie, spices, nuts, flowers.
- Because there is more variety, the produce is fresher and the prices are cheaper.
- It was the first market to use online ordering.
Skills: Listening to longer extracts
Listening to longer authentic recordings is a good way of building up your listening skills, but you shouldn’t worry if you only catch some of the words or get only a very general idea of what is being talked about. The purpose is to understand the key points rather than every detail. Listen first for the gist before listening for specific information. Remember that you can do this without understanding every word; even when you listen in your own language you will find that you rarely hear every word, unless you are really concentrating on the message (as in airport announcements).
Culture: Shopping in Spain
Although large supermarkets have become more and more prevalent in Spain, many families still do part of their weekly and daily shopping in smaller local shops.
Bread, for example, is something that Spaniards buy daily in the many panaderías that can be found in every town and city. Cakes and pastries, which were traditionally sold in pastelerías, are now commonly sold in panaderías too.
Many people still prefer to buy fresh produce such as fruit and vegetables in the market, whilst meat, fish and cooked meats are often bought in small local independent shops which may offer better quality and service than large supermarkets.
A few bodegas still exist where customers can bring their own bottles or garrafas to buy wine by the litre. Although the expression vino de garrafa is given to cheap, nasty wine, some wine sold in bodegas is very good, and a lot cheaper than bottled wine!
Vocabulario
- la garrafa demijohn, carafe
Actividad 5
In this activity you will accompany Lía, a young woman who lives in Madrid, on an evening out. You will learn how to order drinks and food in a bar in Spanish.
A
Today Lía has sent an invitation to her friends through Facebook. Look at her message and choose the correct answers to the questions that follow.
Lee y elige la opción correcta.
- ¿Por qué se reúnen Lía y sus amigos?
- a.Es el cumpleaños de Lía.
- b.Lía tiene hambre.
- c.Es el último día de trabajo de Lía.
- ¿Qué es La Zapatilla?
- a.una zapatería
- b.un bar de tapas
- c.una academia de flamenco
Answer
1 – (a); 2 – (b).
Culture: Tapas
In Spain, people often go to a bar before lunch or dinner to have a drink, usually accompanied by a small portion of food called a tapa. Tapas were traditionally served on a small round or oval plate. The origin of the word tapa is supposedly related to the old custom of bartenders placing a plate as a lid (tapa) over a glass of wine to protect it from dust or flies. Nowadays in some regions, bars don’t charge for the tapa, which comes free with the drink. Frequently people go to one or more bars to try out different tapas. This is called tapear, ir de tapeo or ir de tapas, and eating like this can often amount to a full meal.
B
Look at the pictures below and write down the name of each drink, choosing from the words or phrases in the box. One has been done for you.
Escribe los nombres de las bebidas.
zumo de piña • batido de chocolate • vino tinto • cubata • copa de coñac • mosto • caña de cerveza • agua mineral • refresco de naranja • gaseosa
Vocabulario
- el cubata / el cubalibre mixed drink of rum and coke
- el mosto = el zumo de uva
Answer
The names of the drinks are:
1 zumo de piña; 2 caña de cerveza; 3 refresco de naranja; 4 vino tinto; 5 copa de coñac; 6 mosto; 7 agua mineral; 8 cubata; 9 batido de chocolate; 10 gaseosa.
C
Classify the drinks into alcoholic and non-alcoholic.
Clasifica.
Bebidas con alcohol:
Bebidas sin alcohol:
Answer
Bebidas con alcohol: caña de cerveza, vino tinto, copa de coñac, cubata.
Bebidas sin alcohol: zumo de piña, refresco de naranja, mosto, agua mineral, batido de chocolate, gaseosa.
D
Lía and her friends are now at La Zapatilla. Listen to the following audio track in which Antón, one of Lía’s friends, asks everyone what they would like to drink. Then write down what each of them chooses.
Transcript: Drinks orders
Listen to Antón taking drinks orders from his friends.
Antón ¡Hola Lía, guapa! ¿Qué quieres tomar? ¡Yo invito!
Lía ¡Gracias, Antón! Pues una cerveza fresquita.
Antón Vale. ¿Y tú Miguel?
Miguel Yo un mosto, que tengo que conducir.
Antón Marchando un mosto para Miguel. Noemí ¿qué tomas?
Noemí Ah ¿invitas tú? ¡Qué bien! Pues un tinto y un agua.
Antón ¿Y tú, Iker?
Iker Una cerveza, como la chica del cumpleaños.
Antón Vale. Bea ¿qué te pido?
Bea Gracias Antón, un tinto.
Antón Estupendo, y para mí una Coca-Cola.
Escucha y escribe.
- Lía
- Miguel
- Noemí
- Iker
- Bea
- Antón
Answer
These are the drinks each person ordered.
Lía – una cerveza; Miguel – un mosto; Noemí – un tinto y un agua; Iker – una cerveza; Bea – un tinto; Antón – una Coca-Cola.
E
Listen to the following audio track in which Antón places his drinks order at the bar. Unfortunately he didn’t make notes of the drinks his friends wanted and he makes a mistake. Look at your notes from Step D and identify where he went wrong. Then give the correct order to the waiter in Spanish.
Escucha, identifica y pide.
Transcript: Placing an order
Here’s Antón placing an order with the waiter.
—Camarero por favor, dos cervezas, un tinto, un agua, un mosto, y para mí, una Coca-Cola.
Answer
Antón ordered one red wine only, not two (one for Noemí and one for Bea). This is the correct order as you would give it:
Camarero, por favor, dos cervezas, dos tintos, un agua, un mosto y una Coca-Cola.
Actividad 6
Lía and her friends decide to order a few tapas.
A
Match the list of common tapas in the left-hand column to their meaning in English.
Enlaza.
Ejemplo
1 calamares fritos – (e) fried squid rings
1 calamares fritos 2 tortilla de patatas 3 mejillones al vapor 4 queso 5 jamón serrano 6 empanadillas de pulpo 7 aceitunas 8 albóndigas con tomate | (a) meatballs in tomato sauce (b) cheese (c) Spanish cured ham (d) olives (e) fried squid rings (f) potato omelette (g) octopus pasties (h) steamed mussels |
Answer
1 – (e); 2 – (f); 3 – (h); 4 – (b); 5 – (c); 6 – (g); 7 – (d); 8 – (a).
Culture: Tapas, pinchos and raciones
A tapa is a very small portion. If you are hungry or you are sharing your meal with more people, you may want to order a media ración (half portion) or even a ración (whole portion).
There is some regional variation in the type of tapas offered. For instance, in the north of Spain people have pinchos, which is a bite of food on a toothpick. The traditional pincho is very simple, for example a small portion of Spanish omelette skewered onto a piece of bread with a toothpick, although in some up-market bars pinchos can be extremely sophisticated. The tradition is to take them directly from the counter and, when you’ve finished, let the waiter know how many you’ve had. This custom is changing, however, and in some new establishments you have to keep the toothpicks in order to be charged accordingly.
Typical tapas in Galicia are octopus (boiled and served with oil and paprika) and fried green peppers (pimientos de Padrón). In central Spain, all types of cheese and cured meats, together with cooked food, from meatballs to fried vegetables, are served as tapas. In Andalusia, the main tapas are fried fish, chorizo and different types of cheese. In Central America, bocas are the equivalent of tapas. In Argentina they are called picadas, and they consist mostly of olives, ham or cheese.
B
Listen to the following audio track where Lía and her friends discuss what they want to eat. Write down what they decide to order.
Escucha y anota.
Transcript: Ordering food
The group is discussing the food they want to order.
Miguel Lía, oye ¿pedimos unos pinchos o una ración de algo? Es que tengo un hambre…
Lía Umm… vale, una ración de tortilla de patatas.
Miguel No, mejor dos, que somos muchos.
Lía ¿Y un poco de jamón y queso?
Miguel Vale, pues una ración de jamón serrano y otra de queso.
Noemí A mí me encantan las empanadillas de pulpo de este bar.
Miguel Pues venga, siete empanadillas. ¿Algo más?
Iker Sí, dos raciones de calamares ¿no?
Lía Vale, perfecto. A ver si viene el camarero. ¡Camarero, por favor!
Answer
They order: tortilla de patatas (dos raciones), jamón serrano (una ración), queso (una ración), empanadillas de pulpo (siete), calamares (dos raciones).
Comment
Notice how the sentence ¡Camarero, por favor! is used to call the waiter. Listen to the audio again, paying attention to the intonation.
Transcript: I'm paying
Español de bolsillo
Yo invito.
¡Camarero!
Para mí una cerveza y un pincho de tortilla.
Yo quiero un tinto y unas aceitunas.
Yo un mosto y una tapa de queso.
Para Juan un tinto con gaseosa y una ración de calamares.
Actividad 7
In this activity you are going to look at a menu and order food.
A
Look at the restaurant menu below. Dishes are divided into three categories and normally served in this order: de primero, de segundo, de postre. Decide which categories the following three dishes would normally belong in.
Mira y decide.
Answer
De primero: ensalada; de segundo, filete con patatas; de postre, natillas.
Culture: Meal times
In Spain, the main meals are lunch (la comida, orel almuerzo) and the evening meal (la cena). Lunch is usually between 2.00 and 3.00 and dinner between 9.00 and 10.00. Spaniards do not bother much about breakfast, which is generally very light, but at work they have a mid-morning break and they can have a snack, which can vary from a savoury sandwich with a glass of wine to a cup of coffee or hot chocolate with pastries. An alternative to pastries is the traditional churros, a type of fritter traditionally dunked into hot chocolate. Coffee or hot chocolate also forms the basis for an afternoon snack, or merienda, shared with family or friends. The merienda is usually between 5.00 and 7.00.
In Latin America, meal times vary slightly from one country to another. In Chile, for instance, lunch is generally between 1.00 and 2.00. The afternoon snack of tea and light pastries which is called las onces is served at 5.00. The evening meal (which is called comida in Chile) is served at about 8.30, earlier than in Spain.
B
Read the menu again and group the dishes into the categories listed below. Use their main ingredient to help you decide on the right category. One in each category has been done for you as examples.
Lee y agrupa.
- Carnes: pollo
- Pescados y mariscos: sopa de marisco
- Verduras: gazpacho andaluz
- Fruta y dulces: fruta del tiempo
Answer
Carnes: plato de embutidos ibéricos, pollo con almendras, cerdo al azafrán.
Pescados y mariscos: sopa de marisco, arroz negro, paella marinera, filete de lubina al hinojo, trucha a la menta.
Verduras: gazpacho andaluz casero, tortilla de patatas y alcachofas con pimientos del piquillo, paella de verduras, couscous de verduras a la moruna.
Fruta y dulces: fruta del tiempo, natillas caseras con canela, helado casero.
C
Time to order some food! Write down what you would order:
- if you were a vegetarian, and
- if you loved fish and seafood.
Escribe.
You can start like this:
- Soy vegetariana. De primero… y de segundo…
- ¡Me gusta mucho el pescado y me encanta el marisco! Para mí, de primero… y de segundo…
Answer
Here is a possible answer.
- Soy vegetariana. De primero, gazpacho andaluz y de segundo paella de verduras.
- ¡Me gusta mucho el pescado y me encanta el marisco! Para mí, de primero sopa de marisco y de segundo, trucha a la menta.
D
Listen to some customers placing their orders on the following audio track. Write down what you hear.
Escucha, identifica y anota.
Transcript: Ordering a meal
Listen to some customers ordering a meal at a restaurant.
—¿Y para comer? ¿Qué van a tomar?
—Sí, yo voy a tomar de primero un gazpacho, y de segundo una paella marinera.
—Yo, de primero una sopa de marisco y después una trucha a la menta.
—Gracias. Enseguida lo tenemos.
Answer
De primero: gazpacho, sopa de marisco.
De segundo: paella marinera, trucha a la menta.
Language: Ordering a meal
The following questions and answers are frequently used when ordering a meal.
| ¿Qué van a tomar de primero? | What would you like to have for your first course? |
| Para mí, una sopa de marisco. | For me seafood soup, please. |
| De primero, un gazpacho. | As first course a gazpacho. |
| ¿Qué van a tomar de segundo? | What would you like to have for your second course? |
| De segundo quiero paella. | For my second course I’d like paella. |
| Para mí pescado a la plancha. | For me grilled fish, please. |
| Y de postre, ¿qué van a tomar? | What would you like to have for your dessert? |
| De postre voy a tomar un helado. | For dessert I’ll have an ice cream. |
| Y yo un flan. | And a crème caramel for me. |
Note that por favor is not necessarily used in this context.
E
You are in a restaurant. Listen to the audio track below and follow the prompts to order a meal.
Escucha y participa.
Transcript: Following prompts to order a meal
Use the prompts to order a meal.
Ejemplo
—¿Qué va a tomar de primero?
(ensalada)
—De primero voy a tomar ensalada.
Now it’s your turn.
1 —¿Qué va a tomar de primero?
(sopa de marisco)
—De primero voy a tomar sopa de marisco.
—¿Y de segundo?
(pollo)
—De segundo voy a tomar pollo.
—Y de postre ¿qué va a tomar?
—(helado de vainilla)
—De postre voy a tomar helado de vainilla.
2 —¿Qué va a tomar de primero?
(gazpacho)
—De primero voy a tomar gazpacho.
—¿Y de segundo?
(arroz negro)
—De segundo voy a tomar arroz negro.
—Y de postre ¿qué va a tomar de postre?
(flan)
—De postre voy a tomar flan.
Transcript: Taking an order
Español de bolsillo
¿Qué van a tomar?
De primero una sopa y de segundo trucha.
Para mí un gazpacho de primero y pollo de segundo.
De postre un flan.
Para Jaime un helado.
Actividad 8
This activity is about the last stage of a meal and getting the bill.
A
After desserts have been served the waiter normally asks about coffee or other drinks. Listen to the audio track below and write down which of the following drinks are ordered.
Escucha y escribe.
Vocabulario
- el cortado expresso coffee with a dash of milk
- la manzanilla camomile tea
- el poleo menta peppermint tea
Transcript: At the end of a meal
What do these people order at the end of their meal?
1 —¿Va a tomar café?
—Sí, un cortado por favor.
2 —¿Los señores van a tomar café?
—Sí, un café solo.
—Y para mí, un poleo menta.
3 —¿Quiere café?
—No, voy a tomar un té verde.
- un café solo
- una manzanilla
- un cortado
- un poleo menta
- un café con leche
- un té verde
Answer
The drinks ordered are: un cortado, un café solo, un poleo menta, un té verde.
Culture: After-dinner conversation (La sobremesa)
A feature of relaxed meals in Spain is the opportunity to continue chatting over coffee and possibly liqueurs after a meal. This has a special name, la sobremesa, and it is regarded as an important part of the occasion for friends and family, whether at home or in a restaurant. This is also true of business lunches: Spaniards are very particular about food and wine, and business deals are often made over lunch or dinner in a restaurant. Chatting together after a meal is known as estar de sobremesa.
B
Listen to the short dialogues on the following audio track and decide which are initiated by the customer and which by the waiter.
Escucha y decide.
Transcript: End of meal dialogue
What are these short dialogues about?
1 —¿Me trae la cuenta, por favor?
—Por supuesto, enseguida.
2 —¿Nos puede traer la cuenta, por favor?
—Enseguida la traigo.
3 —Cuando pueda ¿nos trae la cuenta?
—Sí, al momento.
4 —¿Qué tal todo?
—¡Muy bueno! Todo muy rico.
5 —¿Desean algo más?
—No, nada más, gracias.
Answer
All the dialogues take place at the end of the meal. 1, 2, 3 are initiated by the customer, and are different ways of asking for the bill. 4 and 5 are initiated by the waiter, asking about the meal.
C
Listen to the dialogues in Casa Domingo and El Clavel on the following audio track and answer the questions.
Escucha y contesta.
Transcript: Short dialogue
Here are a couple of short dialogues in two different restaurants.
Restaurante Casa Domingo
Camarera ¿Qué tal el postre?
Cliente Buenísimo.
Camarera ¿Desean algo más?
Cliente No, nada más. La cuenta, por favor.
Camarera A ver, dos menús del día y los cafés… son 30 euros.
Cliente ¿Puedo pagar con tarjeta?
Camarera No, lo siento, solo aceptamos efectivo.
Restaurante El Clavel
Cliente ¡Camarero! ¿Nos cobra cuando pueda?
Camarero Un momentito, enseguida voy.
(música)
Camarero Aquí tienen la cuenta. Dos primeros, dos segundos, la bebida y los cafés… Son 40 euros.
Cliente ¿Puedo pagar con tarjeta?
Camarero Sí, por supuesto.
- In which restaurant does the customer attract the waiter’s attention to ask for the bill?
- In which restaurant can you pay with a credit card?
- In which restaurant does the customer pay less?
Answer
1 and 2: Restaurante El Clavel; 3: Casa Domingo.
Transcript: Requesting the bill
Español de bolsillo
¿Desean algo más?
Nada más, gracias.
La cuenta, por favor.
La cuenta, cuando pueda.
¿Me trae la cuenta?
¿Nos puede traer la cuenta?
Actividad 9
In this activity you are going to find out more about Valencian cuisine and one of the city’s famous restaurants by the sea.
Listen to the documentary on the audio track below and answer the following questions in English.
Escucha y contesta.
Vocabulario
- los placeres pleasures
- la langosta lobster
- los fideos noodles
- las personas mayores elderly people
- la realeza royalty
- las paredes walls
- el conejo rabbit
Time for another edition of the documentary series En portada. This programme is all about eating out, one of the most enjoyable things to do in Valencia.
Transcript: Eating out
Presentadora Hola a todos, y bienvenidos a una nueva edición de En portada. Hoy les vamos a hablar de la cocina valenciana, y visitaremos uno de los restaurantes más famosos de Valencia, el restaurante La Rosa.
Uno de los grandes placeres de visitar Valencia son sus restaurantes. La mayoría de estos restaurantes ofrecen platos típicos de la cocina tradicional valenciana, preparada con productos frescos del mar, ríos, montañas y huertas de la región.
—¿Y para comer?
—Para comer yo tomaré una paella de marisco.
—Una de langosta.
—Y de primero tomaré una ensalada valenciana.
—De primero unos calamares.
Presentadora En los mejores restaurantes la carta suele cambiar según la estación del año, pero el plato rey es el arroz o los arroces en sus múltiples formas. Por ejemplo, el arroz a banda se prepara con pescado y marisco; el arroz negro, con calamares en su tinta negra. Otro plato típico es la fideuà, como una paella pero no tiene arroz, tiene fideos. Pero naturalmente, el protagonista en los restaurantes es la paella. Vamos a preguntar a un grupo de personas mayores cuál es su comida preferida.
Entrevistadora ¿Cuál es su comida preferida?
Entrevistada 1 La paella valenciana, por eso soy valenciana.
Entrevistado 2 Paella de verduras.
Entrevistado 3 Fideuà. Y la segunda arroz a banda.
Entrevistada 4 La fideuà.
Entrevistada 5 Paella, paella.
Entrevistada 6 Me gusta mucho la paella.
Entrevistada 7 La paella valenciana.
Entrevistador ¿Cuál es su comida preferida?
Entrevistado 8 A mí todas. La paella, la paella.
Presentadora Bueno, está claro que la paella es la favorita. Y uno de los restaurantes valencianos donde mejor se prepara la paella es el restaurante La Rosa, en la Playa de la Malvarrosa.
La Rosa es un restaurante tradicional. Está abierto desde 1925. Sus propietarios son dos primos, Pedro Collante y Juan Miguel Martínez.
En La Rosa han comido artistas de fama mundial: escritores, actores, cantantes, ministros, y hasta miembros de la realeza española. En las paredes del restaurante hay fotos de Norman Foster, Umberto Eco, Jeremy Irons, y muchos otros personajes célebres. Juan Miguel nos identifica estos personajes.
Entrevistadora ¿Quién es ella?
Juan Miguel La alcaldesa de Valencia, y junto a ella está Norman Foster, arquitecto.
Entrevistadora Y ¿quién es ese?
Juan Miguel Un personaje muy importante en Italia: Umberto Eco.
Entrevistadora ¿Y ellos quiénes son?
Juan Miguel: ¿Ellos quiénes son? Allí tenemos a los propietarios del restaurante junto a Jeremy Irons, actor.
Presentadora Los clientes pueden comer dentro y ver cómo se cocina la paella típica de Valencia, con conejo y pollo. O fuera en la terraza con el Mediterráneo enfrente, que abre el apetito.
—Pues, esta noche vamos a cenar paella.
—Muy bien. Y ¿qué tipo de paella?
—¡Paella valenciana, por supuesto!
—Bon profit! ¡Que aproveche!
- List some of the ingredients of the traditional dishes mentioned.
- What is the main ingredient in Valencian cooking?
- What is the favourite meal of the local people interviewed?
- What sort of a restaurant is La Rosa? When was it opened?
- Does it attract an international clientele? Mention three names.
- What is possible for clients dining indoors?
Answer
- Some of the ingredients mentioned are: seafood (marisco), lobster (langosta), squid (calamares), rice (arroz), fish (pescado), noodles (fideos), vegetables (verduras), rabbit (conejo), and chicken (pollo).
- The main ingredient is rice.
- Paella is the clear favourite.
- It is a traditional restaurant, offering regional dishes, which was opened in 1925.
- Yes, it does. Three clients mentioned are Norman Foster, Umberto Eco, and Jeremy Irons.
- Clients who dine indoors can watch the paella being prepared.
Skills: Shadow reading
Shadow reading means reading the transcript aloud while listening to the speaker on the recording. This technique will help you improve your pronunciation, intonation and fluency.
Conclusion
This free course provided an introduction to studying languages. It took you through a series of exercises designed to develop your approach to study and learning at a distance and helped to improve your confidence as an independent learner.
If you enjoyed this course, you might be interested in studying the Open University module L194 Portales: beginners' Spanish. Or, if you are interested in other language short courses, rather than studying languages for a degree, you may want to have a look at what else is on offer here.
Take the next step
If you enjoyed this course, why not explore the subject further with our paid-for short course, Beginners Spanish 2: ¡En marcha!?
Acknowledgements
This free course was written by L194 Portales: Beginners' Spanish course team.
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Photos
All photos © Mike Truman (including Actividades 5 and 6 (top): with thanks to La Taberna de la Abuela, Málaga) except: Actividad 1 Step D: (top middle) © Steve Hopson, (bottom left) © Kander; Actividad 4: (top) © Fernando Rosell-Aguilar; Actividad 6: (bottom) © Beatriz de los Arcos.
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