Planning a Quiet Dinner with a Friend | Learn Spanish in English

Spanish lesson set in a contemporary Madrid everyday setting: While making plans with a friend, two adults arrange a quiet dinner and choose familiar food at a calm place..

EN → ES / Level: A2

About This Lesson

Use Planning a Quiet Dinner with a Friend to practice Spanish conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

¿Te gustaría cenar juntos?

teh goo-stah-REE-ah seh-NAR HOON-tohs Would you like to have dinner together?
B

Me gustaría. Una cena tranquila suena bien.

meh goo-stah-REE-ah. OO-nah SEH-nah trahn-KEE-lah SWEH-nah byehn. I'd like that. A quiet dinner sounds nice.
A

¿Debería elegir un lugar tranquilo?

deh-beh-REE-ah eh-leh-HEER oon loo-GAR trahn-KEE-loh Should I choose a calm place?
B

Un lugar tranquilo nos ayudaría a hablar.

oon loo-GAR trahn-KEE-loh nohs ah-yoo-dah-REE-ah ah ah-BLAR Somewhere quiet would help us talk.
A

¿Prefieres comida sencilla o algo nuevo?

preh-FYEH-rehs koh-MEE-dah sehn-SEE-yah oh AHL-goh NWEH-boh Do you prefer simple food or something new?
B

Preferiría elegir algo conocido esta noche.

preh-feh-REE-ah eh-leh-HEER AHL-goh koh-noh-SEE-doh EH-stah NOH-cheh I would rather choose something familiar tonight.
A

Puedo reservar una mesa en un restaurante cercano.

PWEH-doh reh-sehr-BAR OO-nah MEH-sah ehn oon reh-stow-RAHN-teh sehr-KAH-noh I can reserve a table at a nearby restaurant.
B

Por favor, mándame los detalles cuando puedas.

por fah-BOR, MAHN-dah-meh lohs deh-TAH-yehs KWAHN-doh PWEH-dahs Please send me the details when you can.

Word by Word

Te In ¿Te gustaría cenar juntos?, Te marks the person being asked whether dinner together would be pleasing to them. It is used before gustaría to identify the person receiving this preference or invitation, such as a friend being addressed.
gustaría gustaría is the form of gustar used in ¿Te gustaría cenar juntos? to present a polite, tentative question about what someone would like. Together with Te and cenar, the question invites the listener to have dinner.
cenar cenar means to have dinner and names the activity proposed in ¿Te gustaría cenar juntos? It is an infinitive used after gustaría, and you can use it when suggesting or discussing an evening meal.
juntos juntos means together and shows that the people would share the activity in cenar juntos. It is useful when making clear that an activity is done with the person being addressed or with a group.
Me In Me gustaría, Me marks the speaker as the person to whom the preference applies, meaning to me. It appears before gustaría in this reply accepting the dinner idea, and the same placement is used in similar expressions of personal preference.
Una Una means a or one and introduces the singular noun cena in Una cena tranquila. It is the feminine singular indefinite article used before a feminine noun, and it is useful when introducing one unspecified item or event.
cena cena means dinner and names the meal being described in Una cena tranquila. It is used here after Una and before its description, and you can use it when discussing or arranging an evening meal.
tranquila tranquila means quiet or calm and describes the dinner in Una cena tranquila. It is the form used with the feminine noun cena, and it is useful when describing a peaceful meal or event.
suena suena is a form of sonar meaning sounds in Una cena tranquila suena bien. Here it evaluates how the proposed dinner seems to the speaker; the pattern suena bien is a common way to say that an idea or plan seems good.
bien bien means well or nicely and completes suena bien to give a positive evaluation of the dinner. The exact expression suena bien is useful as a response when a suggestion seems good.
Debería Debería is a form of deber used to ask whether the speaker should choose a place in ¿Debería elegir un lugar tranquilo? It presents elegir as an action for advice or consideration, which is useful when asking what action would be appropriate.
elegir elegir means to choose and names the action being considered after Debería. In this dialogue it refers to choosing a place, and it is useful after expressions about deciding or recommending an action.
un un means a or one and introduces the singular noun lugar in un lugar tranquilo. It is the masculine singular indefinite article used before a masculine noun, and it is useful when introducing one unspecified place or object.
lugar lugar means place and refers to the venue being considered in un lugar tranquilo. It is useful when talking about where an activity will happen, especially when followed by a description such as tranquilo.
tranquilo tranquilo means quiet or calm and describes the place in un lugar tranquilo. It is the form used with the masculine noun lugar, and it is useful when choosing a peaceful location for a conversation or activity.
nos In nos ayudaría a hablar, nos means us and identifies the people who would receive the help. It appears before ayudaría here, and it is useful when saying that an action benefits the speaker and another person or group.
ayudaría ayudaría is a form of ayudar meaning would help in nos ayudaría a hablar. It describes how a quiet place would make talking easier for the two people, and it is useful for explaining what one situation would help someone do.
a In ayudaría a hablar, a links ayudaría with the action hablar. Here it introduces the activity that would be helped, rather than expressing a location; ayudar a followed by an infinitive is a reusable construction.
hablar hablar means to talk and names the activity that the quiet place would help the speakers do in a hablar. It follows a in this construction and is useful when discussing conversation or speaking with someone.
Prefieres Prefieres is a form of preferir used to ask the person being addressed what they prefer in ¿Prefieres comida sencilla o algo nuevo? It is useful for asking someone to choose between two options.
comida comida means food and is one of the options being discussed in comida sencilla. It is useful when talking about what someone wants to eat, and it can be followed by a description such as sencilla.
sencilla sencilla means simple and describes comida in comida sencilla. It is the form used with the feminine noun comida, and here it identifies one possible type of food when discussing dinner choices.
o o means or and connects the alternatives comida sencilla and algo nuevo in the question. It is useful for presenting two or more choices and asking the listener to select between them.
algo algo means something and introduces an unspecified option in algo nuevo. The adjective nuevo follows it to describe that option, and this pattern is useful when referring to an unspecified thing with a description.
nuevo nuevo means new and describes the unspecified option in algo nuevo. It identifies the alternative to comida sencilla in the dinner question, and it is useful after algo when describing something new.
Preferiría Preferiría is a form of preferir that expresses would rather or would prefer in Preferiría elegir algo conocido esta noche. It lets the speaker state a personal choice politely, and it is useful before an infinitive when explaining which option is preferred.
conocido conocido means familiar or known and describes algo in algo conocido. Here it identifies the type of food the speaker would rather choose, and it is useful when selecting an option that feels familiar.
esta esta means this and points to the current night in esta noche. It is used before the feminine noun noche, and the phrase is useful for referring to the night happening now.
noche noche means night and, together with esta, refers to tonight in esta noche. It is useful when specifying that a plan or action concerns the current evening.
Puedo Puedo is a form of poder meaning I can in Puedo reservar una mesa. It presents reserving the table as something the speaker is able or willing to do, and it is useful before an infinitive when offering help.
reservar reservar means to reserve or book and names the task after Puedo. In reservar una mesa, it refers specifically to booking a table, and this expression is useful when arranging a restaurant visit.
mesa mesa means table and is the object being reserved in reservar una mesa. It is useful when making or discussing a restaurant booking.
en In en un restaurante cercano, en locates the table at the restaurant. It is a preposition used with a place, and en plus a location is useful for saying where something is or will happen.
restaurante restaurante means restaurant and identifies the venue in en un restaurante cercano. It follows en here, and it is useful when discussing where to eat or where a table has been booked.
cercano cercano means nearby and describes restaurante in un restaurante cercano. It is the form used with that masculine singular noun, and it is useful when choosing or describing a venue that is close by.
Por favor Por and favor combine in the fixed phrase Por favor to mark a request as polite; together they function as please rather than as separate instructions. Here the phrase introduces mándame los detalles, and it is useful at the beginning of a courteous request.
mándame mándame is a form of mandar used as a direct request meaning send me in mándame los detalles. The attached me identifies the speaker as the recipient, and the form is useful when asking someone directly to send an object or information.
los los is the masculine plural definite article in los detalles. It indicates that the details are specific or identifiable in the conversation, and it is used before a masculine plural noun.
detalles detalles means details and refers to the specific information about the dinner arrangements in los detalles. It is useful when asking for several pieces of information about a plan, reservation, or event.
cuando cuando means when and introduces the time clause cuando puedas. It links sending the details to the time when the listener is able to do it, and it is useful before a clause that specifies when an action happens.
puedas puedas is a form of poder meaning you can or are able to in cuando puedas. Together, cuando puedas leaves the exact time open and politely avoids setting a strict deadline, which is useful when making a flexible request.

Grammar Points

Me gustaría + infinitivo

Me gustaría cenar esta noche.

meh goo-stah-REE-ah seh-NAR EH-stah NOH-cheh

I would like to have dinner tonight.

“Gustaría” expresses a polite desire and is followed by an infinitive such as “cenar”.

Imperativo + pronombre unido

Mándame detalles, por favor.

MAHN-dah-meh deh-TAH-yehs, por fah-BOR

Send me details, please.

In an affirmative command, the object pronoun can attach to the end of the verb: “manda” + “me” = “mándame”.

Spanish Vocabulary

ayudar verb
ah-yoo-DAR to help ayudaría

Un lugar tranquilo nos ayudaría a hablar.

bien adv
byehn well; nicely

Una cena tranquila suena bien.

cena noun
SEH-nah dinner

Una cena tranquila suena bien.

cenar verb
seh-NAR to have dinner

¿Te gustaría cenar juntos?

elegir verb
eh-leh-HEER to choose

¿Debería elegir un lugar tranquilo?

gustar verb
goos-TAR to like; would like gustaría

¿Te gustaría cenar juntos?

hablar verb
ah-BLAR to talk

Un lugar tranquilo nos ayudaría a hablar.

juntos adj
HOON-tohs together

¿Te gustaría cenar juntos?

lugar noun
loo-GAR place

Un lugar tranquilo nos ayudaría a hablar.

preferir verb
preh-feh-REER to prefer prefieres

¿Prefieres comida sencilla o algo nuevo?

sonar verb
soh-NAR to sound suena

Una cena tranquila suena bien.

tranquilo adj
trahn-KEE-loh quiet; calm tranquila

Una cena tranquila suena bien.

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

Would you like to have dinner together?

Show Answer¿Te gustaría cenar juntos?

Should I choose a calm place?

Show Answer¿Debería elegir un lugar tranquilo?

Do you prefer simple food or something new?

Show Answer¿Prefieres comida sencilla o algo nuevo?

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

together

Show Answerjuntos

to sound

Show Answersuena

quiet; calm

Show Answertranquila

place

Show Answerlugar