Sticking to the grocery list | Learn Spanish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Vamos a seguir la lista de compras.

   Let's stick to the grocery list.

   Vamos a

   we’re going to

   seguir

   follow; stick to

   lista

   list

   compras

   shopping; groceries

   More detail

   Vamos a is a common Spanish pattern for an intention or planned action: ir in the present + a + an infinitive. Here vamos is the first-person plural form of ir, so the understood subject is “we”; the construction does not mean that the group is physically going somewhere. For example, Vamos a cocinar means “We’re going to cook.” seguir is the infinitive “to follow.” In this sentence, following a list means adhering to it or sticking to it. Its present-tense forms include sigo, sigues, sigue, seguimos, seguís, and siguen; the stem change appears in several forms, but not in seguimos or seguís. For example, Sigo las instrucciones means “I follow the instructions.” lista is a feminine singular noun meaning “list.” The article la agrees with it in gender and number: la lista. A useful contrast is las listas, “the lists,” with plural -s on the noun and the matching article. compras is a plural noun meaning “purchases” or “shopping” here. In lista de compras, de links the list with what it contains or concerns, giving the established meaning “shopping list” or “grocery list.” Do not confuse this noun with compras, the second-person singular present form of comprar (“you buy”); the surrounding structure here identifies it as a noun. Together, Vamos a + seguir expresses the group’s plan, while la lista de compras is the object being followed. The complete utterance means “We’re going to stick to the grocery list.”

2. Eso debería evitar que compremos demasiado.

   That should keep us from buying too much.

   Eso

   that

   debería

   should

   evitar

   keep from; prevent

   compremos

   we buy

   demasiado

   too much

   More detail

   Eso is a neuter demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” here. It points to a situation or idea already understood, rather than identifying a particular masculine or feminine noun. Spanish also has este/esta and ese/esa when a specific masculine or feminine noun is involved. debería is the conditional form of deber for a third-person singular subject. Here, with Eso, it expresses an expected result: “should.” The useful chain is deber → debería; for example, Eso debería funcionar means “That should work.” evitar is an infinitive meaning “to prevent” or “to keep from.” After debería, the infinitive names the action that is expected to happen: debería evitar = “should prevent.” With a following clause, the reusable pattern is evitar que + subjunctive. compremos is the present subjunctive form of comprar for first-person plural: “we buy.” In que compremos, the subjunctive is used because the clause depends on evitar que; the sentence presents preventing an action, not simply stating that we buy. Example: Quiero que compremos menos means “I want us to buy less.” demasiado is an adverb here meaning “too much.” It describes the amount of buying in compremos demasiado. As an adverb, it does not change for gender or number. Compare compramos demasiado (“we buy too much”) with compramos demasiadas cosas (“we buy too many things”), where demasiadas modifies the plural feminine noun cosas. Together, Eso debería presents an expected effect, and evitar que compremos demasiado says what that effect prevents: buying more than is appropriate or needed. The whole utterance means “That should keep us from buying too much.”

3. ¿Dónde están la pasta y el arroz?

   Where are the pasta and rice?

   Dónde

   where

   están

   are located

   pasta

   pasta

   arroz

   rice

   More detail

   Dónde means “where” when asking about a place or location. The accent marks it as the interrogative form; compare donde without an accent, which introduces a statement or clause about a place rather than a direct question. Example: ¿Dónde está el baño? — “Where is the bathroom?” Están is a form of estar, “to be” for a location or temporary state. It is present tense, third-person plural: ellos/ellas están. The plural form agrees with the two items in la pasta y el arroz; it is not singular está. Example: Los libros están aquí. — “The books are here.” Pasta is a feminine singular noun meaning “pasta.” Its gender is reflected in the article la in this sentence: la pasta. Example: La pasta está en la bolsa. — “The pasta is in the bag.” Arroz is a masculine singular noun meaning “rice.” Its gender is reflected in el here: el arroz. Example: El arroz está en la despensa. — “The rice is in the pantry.” The whole question combines ¿Dónde with plural están and the coordinated noun phrase la pasta y el arroz: “Where are the pasta and rice?” It asks for the location of both foods.

4. Están en el pasillo de productos secos.

   They are in the dry food aisle.

   Están

   are (located)

   en

   in

   pasillo

   aisle

   productos

   products; goods

   secos

   dry

   More detail

   Están is the present-tense form of estar for a third-person plural subject: “they are.” Here it expresses location, not a permanent identity or description. The subject is understood from the surrounding exchange as the pasta and rice mentioned in the question. Compare está for one third-person subject and están for more than one: Los libros están aquí. — “The books are here.” En means “in” and introduces the place where something is located. The reusable pattern is estar en + place: La leche está en la nevera. — “The milk is in the refrigerator.” Pasillo is a masculine noun meaning “aisle.” Its plural is pasillos; the article and any adjective referring to it also agree with it: el pasillo, los pasillos. In this sentence, pasillo names the location rather than the products found there. Productos is the plural of the masculine noun producto, meaning “products” or “goods.” The preposition de links it to pasillo: el pasillo de productos means “the aisle for/of products.” The phrase de productos secos identifies what kind of products the aisle contains. Secos is the masculine plural form of the adjective seco, “dry.” It agrees with productos, not with pasillo: producto seco is singular, and productos secos is plural masculine. For feminine nouns, the corresponding forms are seca and secas, as in fruta seca — “dried fruit.” In this fixed sentence, secos contributes the “dry” part of “dry food.” Together, en el pasillo de productos secos means “in the dry food aisle.” The whole utterance, Están en el pasillo de productos secos., says that the previously asked-about items are located there: “They are in the dry food aisle.”

5. Esta es la pasta que compramos la última vez.

   This is the pasta we bought last time.

   Esta es

   This is

   la pasta

   the pasta

   compramos

   bought

   última

   last

   vez

   time

   More detail

   Esta es means “This is” here. Esta is the feminine singular demonstrative used when pointing to a feminine singular noun such as pasta; es is the third-person singular present form of ser (“to be”). Together, they identify something: Esta es la llave. — “This is the key.” la pasta means “the pasta.” Pasta is a feminine singular noun, so the definite article is la. The article marks a specific, identifiable item in this context; it does not by itself state how much pasta there is. compramos means “we bought” here. It is the first-person plural preterite form of comprar (“to buy”), selected by the completed past-time meaning of la última vez. The same form can also be present tense (“we buy”), so the surrounding time expression helps determine the intended reading. Compramos fruta ayer. — “We bought fruit yesterday.” última means “last” in la última vez. It is the feminine singular form of último, agreeing with the feminine singular noun vez. The masculine singular form is último, as in el último día (“the last day”). vez means “time” in the sense of one occasion. The reusable expression la última vez means “last time”; it refers to the most recent occasion, not to clock time. For clock time, Spanish commonly uses hora: ¿Qué hora es? — “What time is it?” The relative word que links la pasta to the clause describing it: la pasta que compramos means “the pasta that we bought.” In this relative clause, the understood object of compramos is the pasta, while nosotros (“we”) is the understood subject. Thus Esta es identifies the item, and la pasta que compramos la última vez specifies which pasta: “This is the pasta we bought last time.”

6. Pongamos un paquete en el carrito.

   Let's put one pack in the cart.

   Pongamos

   let’s put

   paquete

   pack

   carrito

   cart

   More detail

   Pongamos means “let’s put” here. It is the first-person plural form of poner (“to put”) used as an affirmative exhortation: the speaker includes themself and the listener. Compare pongo (“I put”) and ponemos (“we put”); pongamos is the form used for “let’s put.” paquete means “pack” here. It is a masculine noun, so the indefinite article is un: un paquete. In this sentence, un introduces the pack being put in the cart; the article by itself does not necessarily assert a numerical count in every context. Example: Necesito un paquete. — “I need a pack.” carrito means “cart” here, specifically the shopping cart in this context. It is related to carro (“cart” or “car”), with the diminutive ending in carrito; the diminutive can indicate smallness or be part of the usual word for a shopping cart. The phrase en el carrito means “in the cart”: en marks location, and el is the masculine singular definite article. Together, Pongamos un paquete en el carrito means “Let’s put one pack in the cart.” The speaker proposes the joint action of putting the pack into the cart.

7. Después de eso, solo necesitamos leche.

   After that, we only need milk.

   Después de eso

   after that

   solo

   only

   necesitamos

   we need

   leche

   milk

   More detail

   Después de eso means “after that.” Después de introduces a time that follows something, and eso is a neuter demonstrative pronoun meaning “that,” used here for a previously established event or action. Example: Después de eso, descansamos. — “After that, we rest.” solo means “only” here. It limits what is needed to leche: milk is the sole item identified as necessary in this utterance. Spanish also commonly writes this adverb as sólo, but the spelling without an accent is standard today. Example: Solo necesito agua. — “I only need water.” necesitamos is the present-tense first-person plural form of necesitar, “to need.” The ending -amos identifies “we” in this form; the subject pronoun nosotros is normally omitted because the verb ending already supplies that information. Example: Necesitamos tiempo. — “We need time.” leche means “milk.” It is a mass noun, so this sentence refers to milk as a substance rather than asserting a particular number of containers. Leche is grammatically feminine, as shown in combinations such as la leche; that grammatical gender does not imply a person or a natural sex. Example: Compramos leche. — “We buy milk.” Together, Después de eso sets the time as following the earlier event, solo restricts the need to one identified item, and necesitamos leche states that the speaker’s group needs milk. The whole utterance means: “After that, we only need milk.”

8. Entonces podemos ir directamente a la caja.

   Then we can head straight to checkout.

   Entonces

   Then

   podemos

   can; are able to

   ir

   go; head

   directamente

   straight; directly

   caja

   checkout

   More detail

   Entonces means “then” here, linking this action to what was mentioned before. It can refer to a time or to a conclusion; in this sentence it introduces the next step: “Then …” podemos is the first-person plural present form of poder (“to be able to; can”): puedo, puedes, puede, podemos, podéis, pueden. It means “we can” here. Poder is followed by an infinitive: podemos ir = “we can go.” The form podemos identifies the subject as “we,” without stating who that group includes. ir is the infinitive “to go.” After a conjugated form of poder, it stays in the infinitive: podemos ir (“we can go”), not a separately conjugated form. directamente is an adverb meaning “directly” or “straight.” It describes how the group can go. The related adjective is directo (“direct”); directamente is the adverbial form used to modify an action. caja means “checkout” in this context, referring to the place where one pays in a shop. Its more literal meaning can be “box,” so the surrounding shopping context selects the checkout meaning. With the article in the full sentence, la caja is feminine singular; the noun itself is caja. Together, podemos ir directamente a la caja means “we can head straight to checkout.” A marks the destination, while la caja names that destination. With the opening Entonces, the whole utterance is: “Then we can head straight to checkout.”