Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
In Spain, there are many delicious dishes. We’ve already covered how to order them, but it’s also important to know the proper way to eat them. Surprisingly, this is not as straightforward as one would think.
GRAMMAR POINT
So, in today’s lesson, we’ll learn how to ask , “How do you eat this?”
In Spanish, “How do you eat this?” is ¿Cómo se come esto?
¿Cómo se come esto?
Let’s break it down by syllable: ¿Có-mo se co-me es-to?
Now, let’s hear it once again, ¿Cómo se come esto?
The first word, cómo, means “how.”
Let’s break down this word and hear it one more time: có-mo.
And cómo.
This is followed by se, which in Spanish is a pronoun for making the phrase impersonal.
se
Next, we have come, which means “it eats” and it’s a conjugated form of the verb comer, “to eat.”
Let’s break it down by syllable: co-me.
And one more time, come.
So, to recap here, we have - Cómo se come…
Literally, this means “How is it eaten…”
Let’s look at the the next word, esto, which in Spanish means “this.”
esto
Let’s break it down by syllable: es-to.
And hear it once again, esto.
So, all together, we have - ¿Cómo se come esto?
Literally, this means “How is this eaten?”
I’ve chosen this impersonal form better than the form “How do you eat this?” because it sounds more natural in Spanish. Hopefully, they don’t answer with a small remark such as “with your mouth,” which by the way is con la boca. If you hear this, you’re on for a long night.
There are other instances when you may want to add some salts, etc. to the dish. In this case, you can ask, “Do you add something to this?” which in Spanish is ¿Se le pone algo a esto?
Let’s break it down by syllable: ¿Se le pone algo a esto?
Now, let’s hear it once again, ¿Se le pone algo a esto?
The first word, se, is again a pronoun for making the phrase impersonal.
se
This followed by le, which in Spanish is a pronoun for marking indirect object.
le
Then we have pone, which means “it puts.”
Let’s break it down by syllable: po-ne.
And hear it one more time, pone.
This is followed by algo, which in Spanish means “something.”
Let’s break it down by syllable and hear it one more time: al-go.
algo
So, to recap here, we have - Se le pone algo…
This is translated as “Do you have something?”
Let’s take a look at the next word, a, which means “to.”
a
Finally, we have esto, which means “this.”
Let’s break it down by syllable, esto.
And hear it once again, esto.
So all together, we have - ¿Se le pone algo a esto?
Literally, this means “Is this food something?” though you must understand it as “Do you add something to this?”
Finally, something that may come in handy for everyone out there adverse to hot things, the all important question, “Is this hot?” hot as in spicy.
In Spanish, “Is this hot?” is ¿Es picante?
¿Es picante?
Let’s break it down by syllable: ¿Es pi-can-te?
Now, let’s hear it once again, ¿Es picante?
The first word, es, means “it is.”
es
This is followed by picante, which in Spanish is “spicy.”
picante
Let’s break it down by syllable: pi-can-te.
And hear it again, picante.
Spanish dishes are very Western-like, so if you are used to Western food, you will feel comfortable eating in Spain. The order of the dishes in a good meal is always the same.
“starters” - entrantes
entrantes
You can be offered cheese, salami-like sausages or fried fishes.
“main course” - primer plato
primer plato
Soups, vegetables.
“second course” - segundo plato
segundo plato
Fish, meat or eggs.
“desserts” - postres
postres
Any kind of fruits, cakes or pudding-like desserts.
And a good meal usually ends up with a coffee “café.”
café

Outro

Okay, to close out today’s lesson, we'd like for you to practice what you've just learned. I'll provide you with the English equivalent of the phrase and you are responsible for saying it aloud. You’ll have a few seconds before I give you the answer, so buena suerte, that means “good luck” in Spanish.
Okay, here we go!
“How do you eat this?” - ¿Cómo se come esto?
¿Cómo se come esto?
¿Cómo se come esto?
“Do you add something to this?” - ¿Se le pone algo a esto?
¿Se le pone algo a esto?
¿Se le pone algo a esto?
“Is this hot?” - ¿Es picante?
¿Es picante?
¿Es picante?

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