Checking ingredients before cooking | Learn Spanish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Antes de empezar a cocinar, ¿qué ingredientes tenemos?

   Before we start cooking, what ingredients do we have?

   Antes de

   before

   empezar

   to start

   cocinar

   to cook

   qué

   what

   ingredientes

   ingredients

   tenemos

   we have

   More detail

   Antes de introduces an action that happens earlier. With an infinitive, the reusable pattern is antes de + infinitive: “before doing something.” It does not itself say who performs the action. empezar means “to start” and is an infinitive. The following infinitive identifies the activity that is started. For example: Empezamos a trabajar — “We start working.” cocinar means “to cook.” Here it is an infinitive after empezar; empezar a + infinitive means “to start doing something.” qué is the accented question word meaning “what.” The accent distinguishes it from the conjunction que, which commonly introduces a clause without being a question word. In ¿Qué necesitas?, it asks which thing or things are needed: “What do you need?” ingredientes means “ingredients.” It is the plural of ingrediente; the plural ending -s shows that more than one ingredient is meant. The following context mentions onions and tomatoes as examples of these ingredients, but the question itself does not specify the complete set. tenemos means “we have.” It is the first-person plural present form of tener (“to have”): tener → tenemos. The form marks the subject as “we”; Spanish commonly leaves the subject pronoun unstated because the verb form supplies that information. Together, Antes de empezar a cocinar means “Before we start cooking,” and ¿qué ingredientes tenemos? asks which ingredients are available to the speaker and the other people included in “we.” The whole utterance is therefore: “Before we start cooking, what ingredients do we have?”

2. La receta necesita cebollas y tomates.

   The recipe needs onions and tomatoes.

   receta

   recipe

   necesita

   needs

   cebollas

   onions

   tomates

   tomatoes

   More detail

   receta means “recipe” here. Its base form is receta, a feminine singular noun; the article la agrees with it. Example: La receta es fácil. — “The recipe is easy.” necesita is the present-tense, third-person singular form of necesitar (“to need”). The singular subject here is la receta, so Spanish uses necesita; with a plural subject, the form is necesitan. Example: La receta necesita agua. — “The recipe needs water.” cebollas means “onions.” It is the plural of cebolla; the ending -s marks plural here. The feminine plural article would be las, as in las cebollas. Example: Corto las cebollas. — “I cut the onions.” tomates means “tomatoes.” It is the plural of tomate; the ending -s marks plural here. The masculine plural article is los, as in los tomates. Example: Lavo los tomates. — “I wash the tomatoes.” The conjunction y joins the two things needed. The whole sentence is La receta necesita (“The recipe needs”) + cebollas y tomates (“onions and tomatoes”): “The recipe needs onions and tomatoes.”

3. Tenemos tomates, pero no nos quedan cebollas.

   We have tomatoes, but we're out of onions.

   Tenemos

   we have

   tomates

   tomatoes

   no nos quedan

   we have none left

   cebollas

   onions

   More detail

   Tenemos is the present-tense first-person plural form of tener (“to have”): tenemos = “we have.” The subject is “we,” and the form is useful for stating possession or availability. Example: Tenemos tiempo. — “We have time.” Tomates is the plural of tomate (“tomato”). Because tomate ends in a vowel, its plural is formed with -s: tomate → tomates. Here it is the thing that is available. Example: Hay tomates. — “There are tomatoes.” No nos quedan is a reusable way to say that something is no longer left or available to us. Quedan is the present-tense third-person plural form of quedar (“to remain” or “to be left”), agreeing with the plural thing that remains; nos means “to us” and identifies whose supply is involved; no makes the statement negative. The pattern no me/te/le/nos/les queda(n) + noun means that someone has no quantity of something left, with queda for a singular noun and quedan for a plural noun. Example: No nos queda pan. — “We have no bread left.” Cebollas is the plural of cebolla (“onion”), formed with -s because cebolla ends in a vowel. In quedan cebollas, it is the plural noun that controls quedan. Example: Quedan dos cebollas. — “Two onions are left.” Together, Tenemos tomates states that tomatoes are available, while pero no nos quedan cebollas contrasts this with the fact that no onions remain in the supply. Thus the utterance means, “We have tomatoes, but we’re out of onions.”

4. ¿Podemos usar cebollas verdes en su lugar?

   Can we use green onions instead?

   ¿Podemos

   Can we

   usar

   use

   cebollas

   onions

   verdes

   green

   en su lugar

   instead

   More detail

   ¿Podemos comes from poder (“to be able to; can”). Podemos is the present-tense first-person plural form, so the speaker includes themself and at least one other person: “can we…?” usar is the infinitive “to use.” After a conjugated form of poder, Spanish uses the infinitive: podemos usar = “we can use” or, in this question, “can we use.” cebollas is the plural of the feminine noun cebolla, “onion.” The plural ending -s shows that more than one onion is meant here. cebolla is singular; cebollas is plural. verdes is the plural form of the adjective verde, “green.” It agrees with the plural noun cebollas; verde is used with a singular noun, while verdes is used with a plural noun. Together, cebollas verdes means “green onions.” en su lugar is a reusable expression meaning “instead” or literally “in its/their place.” Here it presents green onions as the replacement option, without excluding the general idea of using onions. The whole question combines ¿podemos + infinitive usar + the noun phrase cebollas verdes + en su lugar: “Can we use green onions instead?”

5. Tal vez, pero el sabor será diferente.

   Maybe, but the taste will be different.

   Tal vez

   maybe

   pero

   but

   sabor

   taste

   será

   will be

   diferente

   different

   More detail

   Tal vez means “maybe” and marks uncertainty about the statement that follows. It is a reusable expression for a possibility: Tal vez venga mañana. — “Maybe he/she will come tomorrow.” pero means “but” and links two ideas in contrast. It does not cancel the first idea: here, the possibility remains, while the second clause adds a contrasting result. sabor is the masculine noun “taste” or “flavor.” Its plural is sabores. The article or adjective accompanying it normally agrees with it: el sabor, los sabores. será is the future form of ser for él, ella, or usted: será = “will be.” The future ending is part of the verb form, so the subject can be omitted when it is understood. Here, será states a future quality, not an action of changing. For an ongoing or completed change, Spanish commonly uses another verb such as cambiar, but that is not the verb used here. diferente means “different.” It is an adjective and has the plural form diferentes; unlike many Spanish adjectives, its singular form does not change between masculine and feminine: un sabor diferente, una opción diferente. Together, el sabor será diferente means “the taste will be different”: the noun sabor is identified with el, será places the statement in the future, and diferente describes the future taste. With the opening Tal vez and the contrast marker pero, the whole utterance means: “Maybe, but the taste will be different.”

6. Entonces compraré cebollas en la tienda de la esquina.

   Then I'll buy onions from the corner shop.

   Entonces

   then

   compraré

   I will buy

   cebollas

   onions

   tienda

   shop

   esquina

   corner

   More detail

   Entonces links this sentence to what came before and means “then” here, marking the next action in the sequence. It can also introduce a conclusion in other contexts, but this sentence uses the time/sequence meaning. compraré is the first-person singular future form of comprar, “to buy”: comprar → compraré (“I will buy”). The ending identifies the speaker as the person who will carry out the action, and the future form places the purchase after the reference point. Example: Mañana compraré pan. — “Tomorrow I will buy bread.” cebollas means “onions” here. Its singular base form is cebolla; cebollas is the plural form. The noun is the thing being bought. Example: Compraré dos cebollas. — “I will buy two onions.” tienda means “shop” or “store.” In la tienda, la marks this noun as feminine singular; the noun itself is tienda, not la. Example: La tienda está abierta. — “The shop is open.” esquina means “corner.” Its singular form is used in la esquina, and de la esquina identifies which shop: the one associated with the corner. Example: Hay una farmacia en la esquina. — “There is a pharmacy on the corner.” Together, compraré cebollas means “I will buy onions.” en la tienda de la esquina specifies the place as the corner shop. Thus the whole utterance means “Then I’ll buy onions from the corner shop,” with entonces connecting this future action to the preceding situation.

7. Todavía tenemos que medir el arroz.

   We still need to measure the rice.

   Todavía

   still

   tenemos que

   we need to / we have to

   medir

   to measure

   arroz

   rice

   More detail

   Todavía means “still” here: the need remains true at this point. It commonly marks a situation that continues or has not yet changed. Example: Todavía trabajo aquí. — “I still work here.” It is different from ya (“already/now”), which presents a change or completed stage. tenemos que expresses “we need to” or “we have to.” Tenemos is the first-person plural present form of tener (“to have”), and que introduces the required action. This pattern is reusable as tener que + infinitive: Tenemos que salir. — “We have to leave.” The subject is “we”; the following infinitive does not carry a separate person ending. medir is the infinitive “to measure.” After tener que, it names the action that is required. Its present-tense forms include mido (“I measure”), mides (“you measure”), and medimos (“we measure”); the infinitive itself stays medir after this construction. Example: Necesito medir la mesa. — “I need to measure the table.” arroz means “rice.” It is a mass noun in this sentence, referring to the rice as an amount or substance rather than asserting a particular count of individual grains. The masculine singular article appears with it here as el arroz; this article marks the noun phrase grammatically, not a numerical quantity. Example: El arroz está caliente. — “The rice is hot.” Together, Todavía + tenemos que + medir + el arroz gives “We still need to measure the rice.” Todavía shows that the need continues, tenemos que medir identifies the required action, and el arroz identifies what must be measured. The sentence presents this as a current requirement, without specifying when the measuring will happen.

8. Mediré suficiente arroz para cuatro personas cuando vuelva.

   I'll measure enough rice for four people after I get back.

   Mediré

   I will measure

   suficiente

   enough

   arroz

   rice

   cuatro

   four

   personas

   people

   vuelva

   get back

   More detail

   Mediré is the first-person singular future form of medir (“to measure”): medir → mediré. The ending -é identifies “I” in this future form. Example: Mañana mediré la distancia. — “Tomorrow I will measure the distance.” suficiente means “enough” here and describes the amount of arroz. It agrees in number when plural: suficiente arroz (“enough rice”), but suficientes porciones (“enough portions”). It does not express a specific number by itself. arroz is the noun “rice.” It is commonly used as an uncountable food noun when referring to an amount of rice, as here. The surrounding expression can change with the intended meaning: el arroz is “the rice,” while suficiente arroz is “enough rice.” cuatro is the cardinal number “four.” It is used before personas to state the group’s number: cuatro personas — “four people.” Cardinal numbers such as cuatro do not change for the gender of the noun. personas is the plural of persona, “person.” The phrase cuatro personas therefore means “four people.” Example: Hay dos personas aquí. — “There are two people here.” vuelva is a present-subjunctive form of volver (“to return,” “to get back”). This form is shared by several person-number combinations, including first-person singular and third-person singular; the form alone does not identify the subject. Here, the fixed translation establishes the first-person reading: cuando vuelva means “when I get back.” After cuando, Spanish uses the subjunctive for a future event that has not yet happened. Example: Te llamaré cuando vuelva. — “I’ll call you when I get back.” Together, suficiente arroz para cuatro personas means “enough rice for four people.” cuando vuelva adds the future time condition “when I get back.” The complete utterance means: “I’ll measure enough rice for four people after I get back.”