Checking a Restaurant Order | Learn Spanish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Quiero revisar el pedido antes de que llegue la comida.

   I want to check the order before the food comes.

   Quiero

   I want

   revisar

   to check

   el pedido

   the order

   antes de que

   before

   llegue

   comes

   la comida

   the food

   More detail

   Quiero is the first-person singular present form of querer, “to want”: quiero = “I want.” The subject is understood as “I,” so this form expresses the speaker’s desire. For example, Quiero descansar means “I want to rest.” revisar is an infinitive meaning “to check” or “to review.” After quiero, Spanish uses the infinitive when the person who wants and the person who performs the action are the same: Quiero revisar = “I want to check.” el pedido means “the order.” Pedido is a masculine singular noun here, so it appears with el. In other contexts, pedido can refer to a request or an order, but “order” is the intended meaning here. antes de que introduces an event that must happen first: “before.” It is a reusable pattern followed by a clause, as in antes de que termine = “before it ends.” Because the clause presents the food’s arrival as not yet completed at the relevant time, Spanish uses the subjunctive after this expression. llegue is the third-person singular present subjunctive form of llegar, “to arrive” or, in this context, “to come.” Its subject here is la comida, so the clause means “the food comes.” This is not a command; the form is selected by the time expression antes de que. la comida means “the food.” Comida is a feminine singular noun, which is why it appears with la. Depending on context, comida can also mean “a meal,” but “the food” is the intended meaning here. Together, Quiero revisar el pedido means “I want to check the order,” and antes de que llegue la comida adds the time condition “before the food comes.” The complete utterance is therefore: “I want to check the order before the food comes.”

2. Es más fácil corregir los errores antes de que empiecen a cocinar.

   It's easier to fix mistakes before they start cooking.

   Es

   is

   más fácil

   easier

   corregir

   to fix

   errores

   mistakes

   antes de que

   before

   empiecen

   start

   cocinar

   to cook

   More detail

   Es is the third-person singular present form of ser, “to be.” Here it links the situation to the evaluation más fácil: “it is easier.” The subject is expressed by the whole following idea, not by a separate noun. más fácil means “easier.” fácil is the base adjective; más fácil is its comparative form, literally “more easy.” The comparison is understood from context: fixing the mistakes before the stated event is easier than doing so later or under another relevant condition. The adjective does not change here for gender or number because this impersonal evaluation uses the singular form fácil. corregir is the infinitive “to fix” or “to correct.” After an evaluation such as es más fácil, an infinitive can name the action being evaluated: Es fácil aprender means “It is easy to learn.” Corregir is the base form; it does not mark a particular actor or time here. los errores means “the mistakes.” Errores is the plural of error; the article los and the noun show plural number. The adjective or verb associated with this noun would need to agree with it where Spanish requires agreement. Example: Corrijo los errores. — “I correct the mistakes.” antes de que is the conjunction “before.” It introduces a clause with its own subject and verb, rather than simply naming a noun or infinitive. Spanish normally uses the subjunctive in this temporal clause because the event is viewed as not yet realized from the reference point. Compare antes de cocinar — “before cooking,” where the subject is understood from the surrounding sentence. empiecen is the third-person plural present subjunctive of empezar, “to start” or “to begin.” The ending marks a plural third-person subject; the form itself does not identify which people or entities that subject refers to. The subjunctive here is licensed by antes de que, not by a command. Example: Esperamos antes de que empiecen. — “We wait before they start.” cocinar is the infinitive “to cook.” It follows empiecen and completes the construction empiecen a cocinar, “start cooking.” With empezar, a plus an infinitive expresses the activity that begins: Empiezan a estudiar. — “They start studying.” Together, corregir los errores means “to fix the mistakes,” and antes de que empiecen a cocinar means “before they start cooking.” The complete utterance says that fixing the mistakes is easier before that cooking begins. The translation preserves the unusual but compatible idea that the people or entities referred to as “they” are the ones who start cooking.

3. Pedí sopa sin cebolla.

   I asked for soup without onions.

   Pedí

   I asked for

   sopa

   soup

   cebolla

   onion

   More detail

   Pedí is the first-person singular preterite of pedir (“to ask for” or “to request”). The accent on í is part of this past-tense form: yo pedí, “I asked for.” In the supplied sentence, it describes the speaker’s completed request. Example: Pedí agua. — “I asked for water.” sopa means “soup.” It is a feminine noun: la sopa. Spanish often omits the article after pedir when referring to something ordered or requested in a general, non-specific way. Example: Pedí sopa caliente. — “I asked for hot soup.” Here caliente describes sopa and does not change for feminine gender. cebolla means “onion.” It is a feminine noun: la cebolla; its plural is las cebollas. The preposition sin means “without,” and sin cebolla is a reusable pattern meaning “without onion.” The singular form can describe an ingredient as a substance or ingredient category, even when the English translation uses a plural. Example: Quiero arroz sin cebolla. — “I want rice without onion.” Together, Pedí sopa gives “I asked for soup,” and sin cebolla specifies the requested soup: “without onion.” The complete utterance therefore means “I asked for soup without onions.”

4. Y yo pedí ensalada sin aderezo.

   And I asked for salad with no dressing.

   yo

   I

   pedí

   asked for

   ensalada

   salad

   sin aderezo

   without dressing

   More detail

   yo is the explicit first-person singular subject pronoun, “I.” Spanish often allows the subject pronoun to be omitted because the verb ending identifies the subject, so yo can add clarity or emphasis. Example: Yo pedí agua. — “I asked for water.” pedí is the first-person singular preterite of pedir, “to ask for” or “to request.” The useful pattern is pedir + thing requested: Pedí sopa. — “I asked for soup.” The ending -í here marks an “I” form in this completed past-tense form; it is not the present form pido. ensalada means “salad.” It is a feminine noun, so a definite article agrees as la ensalada; an indefinite phrase is una ensalada. The noun itself does not state how many salads are involved. Example: La ensalada está fresca. — “The salad is fresh.” sin aderezo means “without dressing.” sin introduces what is absent, and aderezo means “dressing.” This is a reusable pattern: sin + noun, as in café sin azúcar — “coffee without sugar.” The initial Y means “and” and links this statement to what came before. Together, yo + pedí gives “I asked for,” ensalada names what was requested, and sin aderezo specifies the requested condition. The whole utterance therefore means: “And I asked for salad with no dressing.”

5. El postre debe llegar después de la comida.

   The dessert should come after the meal.

   postre

   dessert

   debe

   should

   llegar

   arrive; come

   después de

   after

   comida

   meal

   More detail

   postre means “dessert” here. It is a masculine singular noun, as shown by el postre. A useful related contrast is el plato (“the dish”) versus el postre (“the dessert”); both are masculine nouns, but they name different parts of a meal. debe is the third-person singular present form of deber (“must; should; owe”). With an infinitive, deber + infinitive expresses an obligation or an expectation: El tren debe llegar pronto. — “The train should arrive soon.” Here, debe llegar presents the dessert’s arrival as expected or required, rather than stating that it has already arrived. llegar is the infinitive “to arrive” or “to come.” After a conjugated form of deber, the following verb remains in the infinitive: debe llegar, not a second conjugated form. Example: La comida debe llegar caliente. — “The food should arrive hot.” después de is the reusable time pattern “after,” followed by a noun or another event: después de la reunión — “after the meeting.” The preposition de links the time relation to what follows; the phrase does not mean that the later event replaces the earlier one. comida means “meal” in this sentence. It is a feminine singular noun, shown by la comida. In other contexts, comida can also refer to food, but here the fixed translation identifies the intended sense as the meal. Together, El postre debe llegar después de la comida means “The dessert should come after the meal.” The structure is subject + deber + infinitive + después de + time reference: the dessert is expected or required to arrive, and its expected timing is later than the meal.

6. Le pediré al camarero que confirme todo.

   I'll ask the server to confirm everything.

   pediré

   I will ask

   camarero

   server; waiter

   confirme

   confirm

   todo

   everything

   More detail

   pediré is the first-person singular future of pedir, “to ask” or “to request”: pedir → pediré (“I will ask/request”). The ending -é marks the first-person singular in this future form. Example: Pediré ayuda. — “I will ask for help.” camarero means “server” or “waiter” here. It is a masculine singular noun; the corresponding feminine noun is commonly camarera. The phrase al camarero combines a with the article el (a + el = al) and marks the person being asked. Example: Llamaré al camarero. — “I will call the server.” confirme comes from confirmar, “to confirm.” Here it is the present subjunctive, third-person singular form. The clause introduced by que expresses what the speaker will ask the server to do: pediré ... que confirme means “I will ask ... to confirm.” It is not an imperative directed directly at the listener. Example: Quiero que confirme la reserva. — “I want him or her to confirm the reservation.” todo means “everything” in this sentence. It is a pronoun used without an expressed noun and names the complete relevant set. Its form here is singular; with an expressed noun, the related forms agree with that noun, as in todo el tiempo, toda la comida, and todos or todas with plural nouns. Example: Lo revisaremos todo. — “We will review everything.” Together, Le pediré al camarero que confirme todo means “I’ll ask the server to confirm everything.” Le is an indirect-object pronoun meaning “to him or her,” referring here to the server; al camarero makes that recipient explicit. The structure is pedir + [person] + que + subjunctive clause: the speaker will ask the server, and the requested action is that the server confirm everything.