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Study in the app →Spanish · CEFR Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 20
La comida The food
The most common foods and drinks: pan, carne, pescado, fruta, agua, café, vino, leche. For "to be hungry" and "to be thirsty" Spanish uses "tener" + noun (NOT "ser/estar"): Tengo hambre = I'm hungry (literally "I have hunger"), Tengo sed = I'm thirsty — just like "tengo … años". For eating/drinking you also use "tomar" (to have, to take): Tomo un café. And "rico" = delicious: La comida es rica. New vocabulary: pan, carne, pescado, fruta, café, vino, leche, rico, tomar. Culture section: mealtimes and sobremesa. Pronunciation corner: clean vowels and the "ie" diphthong.
Dialogue
¿Soy o tengo hambre? — soy or tengo hambre?
- Carlos Mike, ¿quieres comer? Mike, do you want to eat?
- Mike Sí, soy hambre. Yes, I'm hungry. (slip: hunger uses tener, not ser — say "tengo hambre")
- Carlos Con hambre usamos "tener": tengo hambre. Como con la edad. With hunger we use "tener": tengo hambre. Like with age.
- Mike Ah, tengo hambre y tengo sed. Quiero pan y agua. Ah, I'm hungry and thirsty. I want bread and water.
Dialogue
¡Qué rico! — So Tasty!
- Lucía Carlos, ¿qué comes? Carlos, what are you eating?
- Carlos Como pescado con pan. Es muy rico. I'm eating fish with bread. It's very tasty.
- Lucía ¿Y qué bebes? And what are you drinking?
- Carlos Tomo un café con leche. ¿Quieres fruta? I'm having a coffee with milk. Do you want fruit?
Vocabulary
| 汉字 | Pinyin | POS | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| pan | n.m. | bread (m) | |
| carne | n.f. | meat (f) | |
| pescado | n.m. | fish (m) | |
| fruta | n.f. | fruit (f) | |
| café | n.m. | coffee (m) | |
| vino | n.m. | wine (m) | |
| leche | n.f. | milk (f) | |
| rico | adj. | tasty, delicious | |
| tomar | v. | to have (food/drink), to take |
Grammar
"Tengo hambre": tener + sustantivo "Tengo hambre": tener + noun
Para "I'm hungry / thirsty" el español NO usa "ser" ni "estar", sino "tener" + un sustantivo: Tengo hambre (I have hunger), Tengo sed (I have thirst). Es el mismo patrón que la edad: Tengo veinte años. El error clásico del inglés es "soy/estoy hambre" — no existe; hay que decir "tengo hambre". Para comer y beber, además de "comer/beber", se usa mucho "tomar": Tomo un café (I have a coffee), ¿Qué tomas? Y "rico" (delicioso) es un adjetivo que concuerda: el pan es rico, la fruta es rica. Frases: Tengo hambre, quiero comer. Tomo agua porque tengo sed.
For "I'm hungry / thirsty" Spanish does NOT use "ser" or "estar", but "tener" + a noun: Tengo hambre (I have hunger), Tengo sed (I have thirst). It's the same pattern as age: Tengo veinte años. The classic English mistake is "soy/estoy hambre" — it doesn't exist; you must say "tengo hambre". For eating and drinking, besides "comer/beber", "tomar" is used a lot: Tomo un café (I have a coffee), ¿Qué tomas? And "rico" (delicious) is an adjective that agrees: el pan es rico, la fruta es rica. Phrases: Tengo hambre, quiero comer. Tomo agua porque tengo sed.
- Tengo hambre. Quiero comer pan y carne. I'm hungry. I want to eat bread and meat.
- Tengo sed. Tomo agua. I'm thirsty. I'll have water.
- El pescado es rico y la fruta es rica. The fish is tasty and the fruit is tasty.
- ¿Qué tomas? — Tomo un café con leche. What are you having? — I'll have a coffee with milk.
Culture
Horarios y sobremesa Mealtimes & the sobremesa
In Spain people eat lunch and dinner later than in almost any other country — and the conversation after the meal, the sobremesa, is as important as the food.
Lunch at two, dinner at nine
Lunch (la comida) is around two or three in the afternoon, and it's the main meal of the day. Dinner comes late, around nine or ten at night. Breakfast is light: a coffee with milk and some bread.
The sobremesa
After eating, no one gets up right away. The sobremesa — staying at the table chatting, sometimes for hours — is the social heart of the meal. With family and friends, the conversation can last longer than the meal itself.
Tapas and sharing
Out of the house, it's very common to go for tapas: small plates shared among everyone, from bar to bar, with a small beer or a glass of wine. Eating is sociable: you share the food, the table, and the conversation.
In short: in Spain people eat late and unhurried. If you're invited to eat, don't watch the clock — lunch at two, dinner at nine, and stay for the sobremesa. What matters isn't just the food, but the people at the table.
pronunciation
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