Politely discussing a disappointing fish dish | Learn Spanish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Disculpe, ¿podría preguntarle por el pescado? Está un poco seco.

   Excuse me, could I ask about the fish? It is a bit dry.

   Disculpe

   Excuse me

   podría

   could

   preguntarle por

   ask you about

   el pescado

   the fish

   Está

   is

   un poco

   a little

   seco

   dry

   More detail

   Disculpe is the formal singular command form of disculpar, used here as “Excuse me.” It addresses one listener as usted; it is not the informal disculpa or a plural form. It can also be used to apologize briefly, but here it opens a polite request. podría is a conditional form of poder. This form is identical for first-person singular and third-person singular; in this utterance, the fixed translation supports the first-person reading “could I.” In ¿podría ...?, the conditional makes the request tentative and polite. Compare puede “can” with podría “could.” preguntarle por combines preguntar “to ask,” the unstressed pronoun le, and por “about.” In the intended formal-address reading, le refers to the person being addressed, so the combination means “ask you about.” Le does not mark gender. The reusable pattern is preguntarle por + topic: “to ask you/formally ask someone about + topic.” el pescado means “the fish.” pescado is a masculine singular noun here, so it appears with the masculine singular definite article el. The word often refers to fish as food; the context and translation support that sense here. Está is the present form of estar for a third-person singular subject. Its subject is el pescado, and estar presents the fish’s state here as “is.” Spanish uses estar for a condition or state in this sentence, rather than teaching the adjective as a permanent classification. un poco means “a little” or “a bit.” It softens the degree of the following description: the fish is dry, but only to a limited degree. It does not replace or negate seco. seco is the masculine singular form of the adjective seco, “dry,” agreeing with masculine singular el pescado. Its feminine form is seca, and its plural forms are secos and secas, according to the noun it describes. Example: La carne está seca means “The meat is dry.” Together, ¿podría preguntarle por el pescado? politely asks the addressed person whether the speaker could ask about the fish. Está un poco seco then states that the fish is a bit dry, with está linking the fish to its current condition and un poco reducing the degree. The complete utterance is: “Excuse me, could I ask about the fish? It is a bit dry.”

2. Lo siento. Lo consultaré con la cocina.

   I'm sorry about that. I'll check with the kitchen.

   Lo siento

   I’m sorry

   consultaré

   I will check / consult

   cocina

   kitchen

   More detail

   Lo siento is a fixed Spanish apology meaning “I’m sorry” here. Siento is the first-person singular present form of sentir (“to feel”), but in this expression it conveys an apology rather than simply describing a feeling. Lo is an unstressed direct-object pronoun referring broadly to the situation or matter being apologized for; here it does not identify a particular masculine noun. Consultaré comes from consultar (“to consult” or “to check”) and is the first-person singular simple future: consultaré = “I will check/consult.” The written accent belongs to this future form. The ending -é marks the first person singular in this tense; for example, llamaré means “I will call.” Here, the verb presents the speaker’s planned action. Cocina means “kitchen” here. It is a feminine singular noun, as shown by la in la cocina. In this service context, con la cocina means “with the kitchen,” naturally referring to the kitchen staff or operation rather than necessarily to the physical room. The preposition con means “with”; it is not part of the noun cocina. The utterance combines the apology Lo siento with Lo consultaré con la cocina: “I’m sorry about that. I’ll check with the kitchen.” The first sentence apologizes for the matter at issue, and the second states that the speaker will check it with the kitchen.

3. El sabor es agradable, pero la textura no es lo que esperaba.

   The flavor is nice, but the texture is not what I expected.

   sabor

   flavor

   agradable

   pleasant; nice

   pero

   but

   textura

   texture

   lo que

   what; that which

   esperaba

   expected

   More detail

   “sabor” means “flavor” here. It is a masculine singular noun: el sabor. The plural is los sabores; note the spelling change from z to c before -es. “agradable” means “pleasant” or “nice” in this sentence. It is an adjective that has the same form for masculine and feminine singular nouns: un sabor agradable, una textura agradable. Its plural is agradables. “El sabor es agradable” follows the reusable pattern el/la + noun + es + adjective: “the noun is adjective.” es is the third-person singular present form of ser, used here to describe the flavor. The definite article el marks sabor as masculine singular. “pero” introduces a contrast: “but.” It connects the positive description of the flavor with the different assessment that follows; it does not replace or exclude the first statement. “textura” means “texture.” It is a feminine singular noun: la textura; the plural is las texturas. The definite article la agrees with this noun. “lo que” is a neuter relative expression meaning “what” or “that which.” It refers to an unspecified thing or result rather than agreeing with a named masculine or feminine noun. A reusable pattern is lo que + clause: Eso no es lo que necesito — “That is not what I need.” “esperaba” is the first-person singular imperfect indicative form of esperar, “to expect” here. The imperfect presents the expectation as ongoing or existing at the relevant past point: esperaba = “I expected” or “I was expecting.” For comparison, esperé is the preterite, presenting the expecting as a completed past event. In la textura no es lo que esperaba, no es means “is not,” and lo que esperaba identifies the expected result or thing. Together, the clause says that the texture does not match the speaker’s expectation. The complete utterance therefore means: “The flavor is nice, but the texture is not what I expected.”

4. Un poco de salsa aparte podría ayudar.

   A little sauce on the side might help.

   Un poco de

   a little

   salsa

   sauce

   aparte

   on the side

   podría

   might

   ayudar

   to help

   More detail

   Un poco de introduces a small, non-exact amount of something. It is a reusable quantity pattern: un poco de + a noun. The article un does not by itself assert a count of one here; the expression means “a little” or “a small amount.” For example: Necesito un poco de agua. — “I need a little water.” salsa means “sauce.” It is a feminine noun, as shown by forms such as la salsa and esta salsa; its gender is a grammatical property, not a claim about the amount in this sentence. aparte means “separately” or, with food, “on the side.” Here it describes how the sauce is to be provided: separate from the main food. It is an invariable form in this use. Example: Prefiero la salsa aparte. — “I prefer the sauce on the side.” podría is a form of poder (“to be able to; can”). It is the third-person singular conditional form. In this sentence, the conditional presents the possible helpful effect cautiously, giving the meaning “might” or “could.” The singular form fits the singular quantity expression un poco de salsa; the noun salsa itself is not the word carrying the verb inflection. Compare podrían when the subject is plural: Unas hierbas podrían ayudar. — “Some herbs might help.” ayudar is the infinitive “to help.” After a conjugated form of poder, Spanish uses the infinitive: podría ayudar means “might help.” The infinitive does not show a separate person or number here; podría carries that information. Example: Esto podría ayudar. — “This might help.” Together, the quantity expression identifies a small amount of sauce, aparte places it separately or on the side, and podría ayudar presents its helpful effect as a possibility. The complete utterance therefore offers a little sauce on the side as something that might improve the situation, without stating that it definitely will help.

5. ¿Quiere que le traiga un poco?

   Would you like me to bring some?

   ¿Quiere que

   Would you like …?

   le traiga

   bring you

   un poco

   some

   More detail

   ¿Quiere que is a reusable way to ask whether someone would like an action to happen. Quiere is the present-tense form of querer for third-person singular. In this question, because the translation addresses the listener directly, quiere is the form used for one person addressed as usted, giving the question a formal or polite register. The informal singular version is ¿Quieres que...?, with quieres. le traiga combines the indirect-object pronoun le with traiga, a form of traer. Here le means “to you,” and the fixed translation identifies that person as the addressee. Traiga is the present subjunctive, first-person singular form of traer, because the understood subject of the bringing is “I”: “that I bring.” The subjunctive appears after the request-like expression ¿Quiere que...?. For example, ¿Quiere que le ayude? means “Would you like me to help you?” un poco means “some” or “a little” of an understood substance or amount. Poco is related to the amount word mucho: un poco expresses a small amount, while mucho expresses a large amount. The article un here does not by itself state a count of one; the phrase refers to an unspecified amount. Together, ¿Quiere que + le traiga + un poco forms “Would you like me to bring you some?” In the supplied context, the item is understood from the earlier mention of sauce, while le marks the person who would receive it. The question offers to bring an unspecified amount and uses the usted form to address one person.

6. Eso ayudaría, siempre que no sea demasiado pesada.

   That would help, as long as it is not too heavy.

   Eso

   That

   ayudaría

   would help

   siempre que

   as long as

   no sea

   is not

   demasiado

   too

   pesada

   heavy

   More detail

   Eso is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that.” It points to something understood from the situation; the sentence itself does not name the thing. Demonstratives can also distinguish distance or discourse reference, as in esto “this” and aquello “that over there,” but here eso is the form used. ayudaría comes from ayudar, “to help.” The ending -ía marks the conditional for the third-person singular: “would help.” The conditional presents the help as dependent on a condition here, rather than stating that it definitely helps. Example: Eso ayudaría mucho. — “That would help a lot.” siempre que introduces a condition and means “as long as” or “provided that.” It does not remove the condition; the help is presented as acceptable only under the stated requirement. Example: Iré, siempre que haya tiempo. — “I’ll go, as long as there is time.” no sea combines no, “not,” with sea, the third-person singular present subjunctive form of ser, “to be.” After siempre que, Spanish uses the subjunctive because the condition is presented as contingent rather than as an established fact. Sea is also the form used with él, ella, and usted; the surrounding sentence does not identify a personal subject here. In this utterance, no negates the condition: “is not.” demasiado means “too” when it intensifies an adjective. It marks an excessive degree, not merely a high degree: demasiado pesada means “too heavy.” With a noun, demasiado can instead mean “too much” or “too many,” with agreement as required by that noun. pesada comes from the adjective pesado, “heavy.” The feminine singular form pesada agrees with an understood feminine singular referent; the specific noun is not stated in the utterance. The adjective appears after the intensifier: demasiado pesada, “too heavy.” The masculine singular form is pesado, while plural forms include pesados and pesadas. Example: La caja es demasiado pesada. — “The box is too heavy.” Together, Eso ayudaría means “That would help.” The condition siempre que no sea demasiado pesada adds “as long as it is not too heavy”: the understood thing must not exceed a tolerable weight. Thus the complete utterance is “That would help, as long as it is not too heavy.”

7. Puedo traerle un platito de salsa y avisar a la cocina.

   I can bring a small dish of sauce and let the kitchen know.

   Puedo

   I can

   traerle

   bring to someone

   platito

   small dish

   salsa

   sauce

   avisar

   let know

   la cocina

   the kitchen

   More detail

   Puedo is the first-person singular present form of poder: “I can” or “I am able to.” Poder + infinitive expresses ability or permission depending on context; here it presents bringing and informing as actions the speaker can do. The following infinitives are traer and avisar, not conjugated separately. traerle combines the infinitive traer (“to bring”) with the attached indirect-object pronoun le (“to him, to her, or to you” in the formal singular form). Here the translation supports the meaning “bring it to someone,” but the specific recipient is not identified. Le marks the recipient, not the thing being brought. The same combination can appear after other forms of poder, for example: Puedo traerle agua. — “I can bring them water.” Platito is a diminutive form of the noun plato, “dish” or “plate.” The ending -ito commonly presents something as small and can also add a gentle or familiar nuance; here it refers to a small dish. Plato is masculine, so a corresponding singular indefinite phrase is un plato or un platito. Salsa means “sauce.” It is a feminine noun: la salsa means “the sauce,” while una salsa means “a sauce.” In this utterance, de salsa identifies what the small dish contains or is for; the preposition de does not itself assert a separate quantity. Avisar means “to let someone know” or “to inform someone.” With a recipient, the reusable pattern is avisar a + recipient: Voy a avisar a Ana. — “I am going to let Ana know.” In the fixed utterance it is coordinated with traer under Puedo, so the speaker can perform both actions. La cocina means “the kitchen.” La is the feminine singular definite article, and cocina is a feminine singular noun. With avisar a, a la cocina identifies the recipient of the information; the kitchen is understood as the relevant staff or people there in the fixed translation. This is a meaning supplied by the utterance and translation, not a claim that cocina normally means “staff.” The structure is Puedo [traerle un platito de salsa] y [avisar a la cocina]: “I can bring someone a small dish of sauce and let the kitchen know.” Puedo applies to both coordinated infinitives, while le marks the recipient of traer. The complete utterance therefore offers two actions: bringing the small dish of sauce and informing the kitchen.

8. Quería comentarlo antes de comer más.

   I wanted to mention it before I ate more of it.

   Quería

   I wanted

   comentarlo

   mention it

   antes de

   before

   comer

   eat

   más

   more

   More detail

   Quería is the imperfect form of querer for “I” here: querer = to want, and quería = I wanted / I was wanting. The imperfect presents the wanting as an ongoing or background intention in the past. For example: Quería llamarte. — “I wanted to call you.” comentarlo combines the infinitive comentar (“to mention” or “to comment on”) with the attached direct-object clitic lo (“it”). In this sentence, lo refers to the thing being mentioned, while the exact referent is supplied by the situation rather than by the form itself. The same clitic can appear before a conjugated verb: Lo quería comentar. — “I wanted to mention it.” antes de introduces an event that happens earlier than another event. Before an infinitive, the reusable pattern is antes de + infinitive: Lávate las manos antes de comer. — “Wash your hands before eating.” comer is the infinitive of “to eat.” After antes de, the infinitive identifies the event that has not yet occurred at that point: eating comes after the intended mention in the time sequence expressed by the sentence. más means “more” here and modifies the eating: the speaker wanted to mention it before eating a greater amount. Spanish leaves the object understood in comer más; the fixed translation makes that understood meaning “eat more of it” explicit, but más itself means “more,” not “of it.” Compare comer más (“eat more”) with comer menos (“eat less”). Together, Quería comentarlo expresses the speaker’s past intention to mention it. antes de comer más places that intended mention before the speaker ate more of it. The whole utterance therefore means: “I wanted to mention it before I ate more of it.”

9. Por favor, dígame si el pescado sigue seco después de probar la salsa.

   Please tell me if it is still dry after you try the sauce.

   Por favor

   please

   dígame

   tell me

   si

   if

   el pescado

   the fish

   sigue

   is still

   seco

   dry

   después de

   after

   probar

   try

   la salsa

   the sauce

   More detail

   Por favor is a polite way to make a request. It softens the request but does not change who is being addressed. dígame comes from decir (“to tell” or “to say”). The form diga is the affirmative command for usted singular, and the attached me means “to me”: dígame = “tell me.” The accent remains in the written form when the pronoun is attached. Example: Dígame la verdad. — “Tell me the truth.” si introduces an indirect question here: “if/whether.” It is not the conditional word “if” in a condition such as “if it rains.” Example: No sé si viene. — “I do not know whether he or she is coming.” el pescado means “the fish” in this utterance. pescado is a masculine singular noun, so it appears with the masculine singular article el. The article identifies the noun phrase as definite; it does not by itself assert a numerical quantity beyond the singular form used here. sigue is the third-person singular present form of seguir. In seguir + adjective, it means that a state continues: sigue seco = “is still dry.” Example: El pan sigue fresco. — “The bread is still fresh.” seco is the masculine singular form of the adjective seco (“dry”), agreeing with masculine singular el pescado. The feminine singular form is seca, and plural forms are secos and secas when the noun requires them. Example: La salsa está seca. — “The sauce is dry.” después de means “after” and is followed here by the infinitive probar. This pattern expresses that one event occurs later than another. probar means “to try” in this context, specifically to taste the sauce. After después de, the infinitive does not show the subject by its own ending. The fixed translation identifies the person who tries the sauce as the person being addressed: “after you try the sauce.” Example: Después de probarlo, decide. — “After trying it, decide.” la salsa means “the sauce.” salsa is a feminine singular noun, so it takes the feminine singular article la. In this sentence, it is the direct object of probar. Together, dígame si means “tell me whether,” and el pescado sigue seco asks whether the fish continues to be dry. después de probar la salsa places that check after the listener tries the sauce. The complete meaning is: “Please tell me if the fish is still dry after you try the sauce.”

10. Podemos encontrar otra solución.

    We can find another solution.

    Podemos

    we can

    encontrar

    find

    otra

    another

    solución

    solution

    More detail

    Podemos is the first-person plural present form of poder, meaning “can” here. Its subject is the implicit nosotros (“we”), and the form expresses present ability or possibility. Poder commonly combines with an infinitive: Podemos esperar means “We can wait.” encontrar is the infinitive “to find.” After a conjugated form of poder, Spanish uses the infinitive: puedo encontrar means “I can find,” while podemos encontrar means “we can find.” The person and number are marked on podemos, not on encontrar. Otra means “another” or “a different additional one” in this sentence. It is the feminine singular form of otro, agreeing with the feminine singular noun solución. Compare otro libro (“another book”) and otras opciones (“other options”); the form changes to agree with the noun’s gender and number. Solución means “solution.” It is a feminine noun, as shown by otra solución; its plural is soluciones (“solutions”). Example: Necesitamos una solución. — “We need a solution.” Together, podemos encontrar expresses “we can find,” and otra solución means “another solution.” The complete utterance therefore means “We can find another solution.”