Free Spanish lessons: grammar and other curiosities

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Lesson 6: Ordering drinks - grammar and other curiosities - Text

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Important notes

• Describing words ending in 'e'. Notice that caliente (hot) and grande (large) are both masculine and feminine: el café caliente (the hot coffee), la leche caliente (the hot milk), el hotel grande (the large hotel), la cerveza grande (the large beer). We have seen other describing words, like asado and asadas, which have different masculine and feminine forms. To revise them, go to p. 33 in our book
• Por, a, de, con, para, en. These very common words called 'prepositions' are used in different ways depending on the context. However, they do generally have the following meanings: por (for, through), a (to, at), de (of, from), con (with), para (for), en (in, on, at)
• Other useful expressions: no nos queda ... (we don't have any ... left), ¿cuánto es? (how much is it?), quédese con el cambio (keep the change), ahora mismo (right away), vamos a ver (let's see)

You may wonder ...

• What is the difference between ¿qué van a beber? (what are you going to drink?) and ¿ qué van a tomar (what are you going to have?)? Beber means 'to drink' and tomar means 'to have', so ¿qué van a beber? is only used in a drinking context, while ¿qué van a tomar? can be used in both an eating and a drinking context
• What is the difference between una caña and una cerveza pequeña? Una caña is a colloquial way of saying una cerveza pequeña (a small beer)
• Why do you say dos de vino blanco and not dos copas de vino blanco ? In Spanish you often drop nouns that have been said immediately before, like copas in the dialogue
• What is the difference between una copa and un vaso? Una copa is a glass with a stem, and un vaso a glass without a stem

• Read all the points carefully
• If you learn these points well, you'll be able to build up your own Spanish sentences more accurately and faster
• Come back to these grammar pages at a later stage to make sure you remember all the issues raised
• To reinforce what you've learned, go back to the dialogues and exercises of the lesson you're on

Spanish set phrase
Hacer oídos de mercader

English literal translation
To make ears of merchant

English equivalent
To pretend not to hear