About This Lesson
Use Asking about sauce ingredients to practice Spanish conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.
Dialogue
A
¿Puedo preguntar qué ingredientes tiene esta salsa?
PWEH-doh preh-goon-TAR keh een-greh-dee-EN-tehs TYEH-neh ES-tah SAL-sah? Could I ask about the ingredients in this sauce?
B
Tiene leche y un poco de ajo.
TYEH-neh LEH-cheh ee oon POH-koh deh AH-hoh. It contains milk and a little garlic.
A
No puedo tomar leche.
noh PWEH-doh toh-MAR LEH-cheh. I can't have milk.
B
Puedo poner la salsa aparte.
PWEH-doh poh-NEHR lah SAL-sah ah-PAR-teh. I can keep the sauce on the side.
A
Eso sería mejor para mí.
EH-soh seh-REE-ah meh-HOR pah-rah MEE. That would work better for me.
B
¿Necesitas evitar alguna otra comida?
neh-seh-SEE-tahs eh-bee-TAR al-GOO-nah OH-trah koh-MEE-dah? Are there any other foods you need to avoid?
A
El ajo está bien.
ehl AH-hoh ehs-TAH byen. Garlic is fine.
B
Prepararé tu plato sin la salsa.
preh-pah-rah-REH too PLAH-toh seen lah SAL-sah. I'll prepare your plate without the sauce.Word by Word
Puedo
In “¿Puedo preguntar qué ingredientes tiene esta salsa?”, “Puedo” means “May I?” and asks for permission to ask a question. It comes before an infinitive when expressing permission or ability, and it is useful when politely asking to do something.
preguntar
“preguntar” means “to ask” in “¿Puedo preguntar qué ingredientes tiene esta salsa?”. It is used after a form of “poder” and is useful when requesting information from another person.
qué
In “qué ingredientes tiene esta salsa”, “qué” introduces the information being requested: what ingredients the sauce has. It commonly appears before the noun or information asked about in an embedded question.
ingredientes
“ingredientes” means “ingredients” in “qué ingredientes tiene esta salsa”. It refers to the items used in preparing the sauce, and it can be used when asking about or listing what a dish contains.
tiene
In “qué ingredientes tiene esta salsa” and “Tiene leche y un poco de ajo”, “tiene” means “has” or “contains”. In this food context, it describes the contents of a sauce or dish and can be reused to state what something contains.
esta
“esta” means “this” in “esta salsa” and points to the sauce being discussed. It comes before a noun when identifying a particular nearby or current item.
salsa
“salsa” means “sauce”. The dialogue uses it in “esta salsa”, “la salsa aparte”, and “sin la salsa” to refer first to the sauce being discussed and then to the same sauce in serving arrangements.
leche
“leche” means “milk” in “Tiene leche” and “tomar leche”. It names an ingredient and can be used with “tomar” when talking about consuming milk.
y
“y” means “and” in “leche y un poco de ajo”. It joins two ingredients or other items in a list, such as when giving the contents of a dish.
un
In “un poco de ajo”, “un” helps introduce the quantity expression meaning “a small amount of garlic”. It is also used before a singular noun to introduce one item or an unspecified item.
poco
In “un poco de ajo”, “poco” indicates a small amount. The pattern “un poco de” is useful when asking for or describing a small quantity of a food, drink, or substance.
de
In “un poco de ajo”, “de” links the quantity “un poco” to what it measures: garlic. The pattern “un poco de” is used before the food or substance being measured.
ajo
“ajo” means “garlic” in “un poco de ajo” and “El ajo está bien”. It names an ingredient and can be used when discussing whether garlic is included or acceptable in a dish.
No
In “No puedo tomar leche”, “No” negates the following verb phrase, meaning “I cannot have milk”. It normally comes before the conjugated verb when stating a restriction or refusal.
tomar
In “No puedo tomar leche”, “tomar” means “to have” or “to consume” milk. It is used after “puedo” in the infinitive form and is useful when talking about consuming a food or drink.
poner
In “Puedo poner la salsa aparte”, “poner” means “to put” or “place” the sauce separately. It is useful with an item and a placement such as “aparte” when offering to serve something on the side.
la
In “la salsa”, “la” means “the” and identifies the specific sauce already being discussed. It comes before a noun when referring to a known or particular item.
aparte
In “Puedo poner la salsa aparte”, “aparte” means “separately” or “on the side”. It describes keeping the sauce separate from the main plate and is useful when arranging food to meet someone’s needs.
Eso
In “Eso sería mejor para mí”, “Eso” means “that” and refers to the suggestion just made: keeping the sauce separate. It is useful for responding to a previous proposal without repeating the whole proposal.
sería
In “Eso sería mejor para mí”, “sería” means “would be” and presents the arrangement as a polite evaluation. It can be used with an adjective when describing how a proposed option would be for someone.
mejor
“mejor” means “better” in “Eso sería mejor para mí”. It evaluates the proposed arrangement positively in comparison with another option and can be used with “para” to express what suits someone.
para
In “para mí”, “para” means “for” and marks the person whose needs or perspective are being considered. The pattern “para” plus a person is useful when describing suitability or benefit.
mí
In “para mí”, “mí” means “me” after the preposition “para”. This expression is useful for stating that an option is suitable or preferable from the speaker’s personal perspective.
Necesitas
In “¿Necesitas evitar alguna otra comida?”, “Necesitas” means “you need” and addresses one person directly. It is followed by an infinitive when asking whether that person has a particular requirement.
evitar
“evitar” means “to avoid” in “evitar alguna otra comida”. It appears after “Necesitas” in the infinitive form and is useful when talking about foods or ingredients someone must not consume.
alguna
In “alguna otra comida”, “alguna” refers to any unspecified possible item. In a question, it helps ask whether there is one additional food that the person needs to avoid.
otra
In “alguna otra comida”, “otra” means “other” or “another”. It indicates an additional food beyond the item or items already mentioned and is useful before a noun when asking about an extra possibility.
comida
“comida” means “food” in “alguna otra comida”. Here it refers to a food item that may need to be avoided, and it can be used when discussing dietary restrictions.
El
In “El ajo está bien”, “El” means “the” and identifies garlic as the ingredient under discussion. It comes before a noun when referring to a specific known item.
está
In “El ajo está bien”, “está” means “is” as part of the assessment that the garlic is acceptable. The pattern “está bien” is useful for saying that an item or situation is okay.
bien
In “El ajo está bien”, “bien” means “fine” or “okay”. Together with “está”, it confirms that garlic is acceptable, and “está bien” can be used to approve an item or arrangement.
Prepararé
In “Prepararé tu plato sin la salsa”, “Prepararé” means “I will prepare” and expresses a commitment about what the speaker will do. It is useful when promising or announcing a future preparation for another person.
tu
In “tu plato”, “tu” means “your” and shows that the plate belongs to or is intended for the person being addressed. It comes directly before a noun when identifying something connected with that person.
plato
“plato” means “plate” in “tu plato”. In this context, it refers to the serving prepared for the other person and can be used when discussing someone’s meal or serving.
sin
In “sin la salsa”, “sin” means “without” and introduces what is excluded from the plate. It is useful before a noun when explaining that a food or ingredient will not be included.
Grammar Points
poder + infinitivo
¿Puedo tomar eso?
PWEH-doh toh-MAR EH-soh?Can I have that?
Puedo is the first-person form of poder and is followed by an infinitive, such as tomar.
sin + sustantivo
sin leche
seen LEH-chehwithout milk
Sin means “without” and is followed directly by a noun, such as leche.
Spanish Vocabulary
ajo
noun
AH-hoh
garlic
aparte
adv
ah-PAR-teh
separately; on the side
eso
pron
EH-soh
that
ingrediente
noun
een-greh-dee-EN-teh
ingredient
ingredientes
leche
noun
LEH-cheh
milk
poder
verb
poh-DEHR
can; to be able to
puedo
poner
verb
poh-NEHR
to put; to place
preguntar
verb
preh-goon-TAR
to ask
salsa
noun
SAL-sah
sauce
tener
verb
teh-NEHR
to have; to contain
tiene
tomar
verb
toh-MAR
to have; to drink
un poco de
phrase
oon POH-koh deh
a little
Quiz
Word Order
Arrange the words in the correct order.
I can't have milk.
Show Answer
No puedo tomar leche.I can keep the sauce on the side.
Show Answer
Puedo poner la salsa aparte.That would work better for me.
Show Answer
Eso sería mejor para mí.Spelling
Tap the letters to spell the word.
sauce
Show Answer
salsato ask
Show Answer
preguntarto have; to contain
Show Answer
tieneingredient