Choosing juice in a shop | Learn Spanish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Disculpe, ¿dónde está el jugo?

   Excuse me, where is the juice?

   Disculpe

   Excuse me

   ¿dónde

   where

   está

   is located

   el jugo

   the juice

   More detail

   Disculpe is the polite “excuse me” used to address one person with usted. Its exact form is an affirmative command form of disculpar; it is not the informal singular disculpa or the plural disculpen. In this utterance, it functions as a brief attention-getting apology before the question. ¿dónde means “where” in a question. The accent mark distinguishes interrogative dónde from the unaccented relative/adverbial form donde, used in contexts such as “the place where…”. está is the third-person singular present form of estar, whose base form is estar. For a location, Spanish normally uses estar: El jugo está aquí means “The juice is here.” The form agrees with the singular subject el jugo; it does not mean permanent identity, for which ser is used in different constructions. el jugo means “the juice.” El is the masculine singular definite article agreeing with jugo; it identifies the noun as definite here but does not itself assert a numerical quantity. Jugo is a masculine singular noun; in some Spanish-speaking regions, zumo is also used for “juice.” Together, ¿dónde está el jugo? literally asks where the juice is located. Adding the polite opener Disculpe produces the complete meaning: “Excuse me, where is the juice?”

2. Está en esta sección, junto a las bebidas frías.

   It's in this section, next to the cold drinks.

   Está

   is located

   esta

   this

   sección

   section

   junto a

   next to

   bebidas

   drinks

   frías

   cold

   More detail

   Está is the third-person singular present form of estar, used here for location: “is located” or “is.” Its subject is the item being asked about in the preceding question, the juice. Compare está (“is”) with están (“are”) when the located subject is plural. esta means “this” and is a feminine singular demonstrative. It agrees with sección, not with the item located there. The unaccented esta modifies a noun; está with an accent is the verb form “is.” Example: Esta tienda está cerca. — “This store is nearby.” sección is the feminine noun “section.” Its plural is secciones: una sección, dos secciones. In this sentence, the demonstrative and noun combine as esta sección, “this section.” junto a is a reusable prepositional expression meaning “next to” or “beside.” It introduces the thing used as the location reference: junto a la puerta means “next to the door.” bebidas is the plural of the feminine noun bebida, “drink” or “beverage.” The plural form is appropriate because the translation refers to drinks in general, not one drink. frías is the feminine plural form of the adjective frío, “cold.” It agrees with bebidas in gender and number: bebida fría is “cold drink,” and bebidas frías is “cold drinks.” Together, Está en esta sección says that the item being asked about is located in this section. junto a las bebidas frías adds the nearby reference point: it is next to the cold drinks. The complete meaning is “It’s in this section, next to the cold drinks.”

3. ¿Qué recomienda?

   What do you recommend?

   ¿Qué

   what

   recomienda

   recommend(s)

   More detail

   ¿Qué asks for a thing, choice, or piece of information: “what?” The accent marks it as the interrogative form. Compare qué in a question with que without an accent in uses such as “that” or “which,” where it is not itself asking a question. Example: ¿Qué buscas? — “What are you looking for?” recomienda is the third-person singular present form of recomendar, “to recommend.” In this utterance, the fixed translation shows that the question is addressed to “you”; Spanish expresses that with the formal singular usted form: usted recomienda. The same verb form can also refer to “he” or “she” in another context, but that is not the intended reading here. Recomendar changes its stem vowel in some present-tense forms: recomiendo for “I recommend,” but recomienda for usted, “he,” or “she.” Example: ¿Qué recomienda usted? — “What do you recommend?” Here usted is stated explicitly; in the fixed utterance it is understood from the verb form and intended meaning. Together, ¿Qué recomienda? asks the person addressed to identify a recommendation. The utterance does not specify what kind of item is being recommended; the surrounding context places the discussion in a section next to cold drinks, and the following context mentions a juice, but the question itself leaves the recommendation open.

4. Este jugo tiene un sabor fresco y es fácil de beber.

   This juice has a fresh taste and is easy to drink.

   Este

   this

   jugo

   juice

   tiene

   has

   sabor

   taste; flavor

   fresco

   fresh

   fácil

   easy

   beber

   to drink

   More detail

   Este means “this” and points to a masculine singular noun. It agrees with jugo, which is masculine singular; the feminine singular form is esta, as in esta botella (“this bottle”). jugo means “juice.” Its plural is jugos (“juices”). In this sentence it is the subject of tiene and es. tiene is the third-person singular present form of tener (“to have”): tener → tiene. It agrees with the singular subject este jugo. For example, El té tiene buen aroma means “The tea has a good aroma.” sabor means “taste” or “flavor.” The phrase tener un sabor is a useful pattern for describing the taste of food or drink: La sopa tiene un sabor intenso means “The soup has an intense flavor.” fresco means “fresh” here. It is an adjective modifying sabor, so it is masculine singular, matching that noun. Its feminine singular form is fresca, and its plural forms are frescos and frescas, according to the noun described. fácil means “easy.” This adjective has the same singular form for masculine and feminine nouns; its plural is fáciles. The construction ser fácil de followed by an infinitive describes something that is easy to do: La receta es fácil de seguir means “The recipe is easy to follow.” beber is the infinitive “to drink.” After fácil de, the infinitive names the action that is easy. The phrase fácil de beber therefore describes the juice as easy for someone to drink, without specifying who that person is. Together, Este jugo tiene un sabor fresco says “This juice has a fresh taste,” and es fácil de beber says “it is easy to drink.” The conjunction y joins these two descriptions, producing the complete meaning: “This juice has a fresh taste and is easy to drink.”

5. Entonces, me llevo esa botella.

   Then I'll get that bottle.

   Entonces

   then

   me llevo

   I’ll get

   esa

   that

   botella

   bottle

   More detail

   Entonces introduces a consequence or next decision: “then” or “in that case.” It links this utterance to what has just been established, without changing the sentence’s participants or action. me llevo comes from the pronominal verb llevarse, “to take or get for oneself.” llevo is the first-person singular present form of llevar, and me is the first-person singular pronominal clitic. In this utterance, the present form expresses the speaker’s immediate decision or intention, which the translation renders as “I’ll get.” The non-pronominal llevo can mean “I carry/take,” while me llevo commonly presents the item as something the speaker is taking or getting for themself. Example: Me llevo el libro. — “I’ll take the book.” esa is a feminine singular demonstrative meaning “that.” It agrees with the feminine singular noun it modifies, botella; the form is not masculine or plural. A useful contrast is esta (“this,” generally nearer to the speaker) and esa (“that,” associated with the other side or with something already indicated). Here, the fixed translation identifies the referent as the bottle. botella is the feminine noun “bottle.” Its plural is botellas. The feminine form of the demonstrative is visible in esa botella; the noun itself names the container, not its contents. Example: La botella está aquí. — “The bottle is here.” Together, Entonces, me llevo esa botella. means “Then I’ll get that bottle.” Entonces marks the decision as following from the preceding situation; me llevo expresses the speaker’s immediate choice to take or get something; and esa botella identifies the chosen object as that particular bottle.