Make a Special Meal in Spanish

Quick Answer

¡Hola!Learn how to make a special meal in Spanish in this article and the lessons above! Specifically, learn how to do the following in Spanish:

• use the present progressive

• talk about meal preparation

• use common food vocabulary

Vocabulary

Let's start off with the vocab words in these lessons!

Adjectives

Spanish	English
diferente	different
diverso	various
enlatado	canned
especial	special

examples
Estamos preparando una comida especial. We're preparing a special meal.
Estoy pensando en un menú diferente este año. I'm thinking of a different menu this year.
Estamos cocinando diversos platos. We're cooking various dishes.

Adverb

Spanish	English
exactamente	exactly

examples
Sí, exactamente. Está echándola ahora. Yes, exactly. He's adding it now.

Nouns

Spanish	English
el abrelatas	can opener
la canela	cinnamon
el espárrago	asparagus
la espinaca	spinach
la harina	flour
la licuadora	blender
la mantequilla	butter
la Nochebuena	Christmas Eve
la olla	pot
el pavo	turkey
el ponche	punch
el romero	rosemary
las servilletas	napkins
la vainilla	vanilla
el vinagre	vinegar

In Spanish, the words espinaca and espárrago are often used in the plural.

examples
Voy a preparar espinacas. I'm going to prepare spinach.
No me gustan los espárragos. I don't like asparagus.

examples

Voy a preparar espinacas.

I'm going to prepare spinach.

No me gustan los espárragos.

I don't like asparagus.

examples
Estamos preparando los espárragos. We're preparing the asparagus.
¿Está echando harina? Is he adding flour?
¡Estamos celebrando la Nochebuena! We're celebrating Christmas Eve!

Noun Phrases

Spanish	English
el puré de papas	mashed potatoes
la salsa de arándanos	cranberry sauce
la tarta de manzana	apple pie
las tazas para medir	measuring cups

examples
Ella está haciendo el puré de papas. She's making the mashed potatoes.
Estoy preparando la salsa de arándanos. I'm preparing cranberry sauce.

Preposition

Spanish	English
sin	without

examples
Estoy preparándola sin naranja. I'm preparing it without orange.

Prepositional Phrase

Spanish	English
al horno	roasted

examples
Estoy cocinando patatas al horno. I'm cooking roasted potatoes.

Verb

In this skill, you learn the following verb!

Decorar

Decoraris a regular -ar verb that means to decorate.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	decoro	I decorate
tú	decoras	you decorate	informal singular you
vos	decorás	you decorate	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	decora	he, she decorates
usted	decora	you decorate	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	decoramos	we decorate
vosotros, vosotras	decoráis	you decorate	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	decoran	they decorate
ustedes	decoran	you decorate	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Verb Phrase

In this skill, you learn the following verb phrase!

Poner La Mesa

Poner la mesais an -er verb phrase with an irregular yo form that means to set the table.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	pongo la mesa	I set the table
tú	pones la mesa	you set the table	informal singular you
vos	ponés la mesa	you set the table	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	pone la mesa	he, she sets the table
usted	pone la mesa	you set the table	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	ponemos la mesa	we set the table
vosotros, vosotras	ponéis la mesa	you set the table	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	ponen la mesa	they set the table
ustedes	ponen la mesa	you set the table	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Verbs in the Present Progressive

In this skill, you learn the following verbs in the present progressive (present continuous)!

The structure for the present progressive in Spanish is:

estar + present participle

Infinitive	English	Present Participle
celebrar	to celebrate	celebrando
cocinar	to cook	cocinando
decorar	to decorate	decorando
echar	to add	echando
hacer	to make	haciendo
pensar	to think	pensando
poner	to set (the table), to put (out)	poniendo
preparar	to prepare	preparando
sacar	to get out	sacando
usar	to use	usando

In present progressive sentences that use direct object pronouns, you can either attach the direct object pronoun to the end of the verb or put it before the first conjugated verb. Check out these examples:

examples

Estoy preparándola sin naranja.

I'm preparing it without orange.

Estoy cocinándolas en la olla.

I'm cooking them in the pot.

Note that when we add the direct object pronoun to the end of the verb, we put an accent over the vowel directly before the -ndo.

Verbs in the Informal Future

To form the informal future in Spanish, we use the following formula:

ir a + infintive verb

For example:

examples
Voy a usar piña enlatada. I'm going to use canned pineapple.

Phrases

Here are some of the phrases used in these lessons!

Spanish	English
Buen provecho.	Bon appétit.

Culture

La Nochebuena is a big holiday in many parts of the Spanish-speaking world. Many families get together and have a big meal. You can read more about Christmas in the Spanish-speaking world in this article.