Lección 3.1

Comida y Celebraciones (Food and Celebrations)

In this chapter, you will continue building your foundation in Spanish by communicating in a restaurant setting and talking about food, in general, which is very important to the culture. In order to be able to express what you would like to eat or order, you will investigate stem or root-changing verbs which appear in important verbs like ‘querer’ (to want), ‘poder’ (to be able to), and ‘pedir’ (to order). You will be memorizing prepositions in Spanish so that you can tell people where you are or where a restaurant is located. You will be studying the verbs ‘tener’ (to have) and ‘venir’ (to come), which are essential for expressing yourself in Spanish. You will conjugate verbs with irregular ‘yo’ forms that will allow you to communicate what you might bring to a celebration or how much something costs. You will also identify the different uses of the verbs ‘Saber’ (to know) and ‘Conocer’ (to know) which have the same meanings but are used in different contexts. This will allow you to be able to communicate the things that you know how to do and things that you know in more depth. You will be able to list the months and seasons of the year, as well as weather conditions in order to communicate when something is taking place. You will also be counting from 30-100, which will help when going out and celebrating.

By the end of this chapter, you’ll be able to start ordering food in a restaurant, describe weather and dates, and appreciate some cultural celebrations in Mexico. You’re not just learning the language, you’re experiencing the culture. ¡Buen provecho y a celebrar!

Vocabulario

Actividades

Vocabulario

Actividades

Stem-Changing Verbs in the Present Tense

In Spanish, most verbs follow regular patterns when conjugated, but some verbs don’t and are considered irregular. One type of irregular verb is called a stem-changing verb. These verbs have a change in their stem (or root) when conjugated. It is important to note that the stem-change will not occur in the subject pronouns ‘nosotros’ and ‘vosotros’ but will occur for the other subject pronouns. The most common stem changes are ‘e > ie’, ‘o> ue’, and ‘e>i’. It is important to memorize these verbs because they are important in common, everyday conversatio,n especially when talking about basic actions like eating, shopping and going places.

The first set of stem-changing verbs are ‘e>ie’, see the following examples:

• Recomendar – to recommend
• Querer – to want, to love
• Preferir – to prefer
• Sugerir – to suggest
• Pensar – to think
• Entender – to understand
• Sentir – to feel, to regret
• Cerrar – to close
• Perder – to lose
• Comenzar – to begin, to start
• Mentir – to lie
• Encender – to turn on/to light
• Convertir – to convert
• Defender – to defend
• Empezar – to begin, to start

Let’s learn how to conjugate stem (root)- changing verbs using the verb ‘querer’. The first step is to figure out which vowel is going to take the stem change.

Leave the verb in the infinitive when deciding which vowel is taking the stem change. Then count two syllabus from the end of the verb back. The syllabic break down of ‘Querer’ is ‘Quer-er’.

Now that you have found the penultimate syllable, by counting two syllables back from the end of verb in its infinitive form, you can confidently know that the ‘e’ in ‘Quer’ is taking the stem change.

After you find the vowel that is taking the stem change, remove the –‘er’ to find the stem, ‘Quer’, in this instance. Now, conjugate ‘quer’, with the regular endings always applying the stem change except in the subject pronouns ‘nosotros’ (and vosotros).

Querer-to want

Querer — present tense

Subject (singular)	Form (singular)	Subject (plural)	Form (plural)
Yo	Quiero	Nosotros	Queremos
Tú	Quiere	Vosotros	Queréis
Usted	Quiere	Ustedes	Quieren
Él	Quiere	Ellos	Quieren
Ella	Quiere	Ellas	Quieren

It is important to note that when using ‘e>ie’ stem-changing ‘-ir’ verbs such as pedir, preferir, mentir, in the present progressive, the stem changes from e>i. For example, ‘estoy pidiendo’, ‘ellos están mintiendo’, ‘nosotros estamos prefiriendo’.

The second set of stem-changing verbs are ‘o>ue’, see the following examples:

• Almorzar – to (eat) lunch
• Probar – to try, to taste
• Costar – to cost
• Poder – to be able, can
• Volver – to return
• Encontrar – to find
• Devolver – to return
• Recordar – to remember
• Contar – to count
• Dormir – to sleep
• Morir – to die
• Mostrar – to show
• Resolver – to solve
• Rogar – to beg, to plead
• Mover – to move
• Soñar – to dream
• Colgar – to hang
• Morder – to bite
• Sonar – to ring, to sound
• Comprobar – to compar

Let’s conjugate ‘o>ue’ stem(root)- changing verbs using the verb ‘probar’. The first step is to figure out which vowel is going to take the stem change.

Like with the ‘e>ie’ stem change, leave the verb in the infinitive when deciding which vowel is taking the stem change. Then count two syllables back from the end of the verb. The syllabic breakdown of ‘probar’ is ‘Pro-bar’.

Now that you have found the penultimate syllable, by counting two syllables back from the end of verb in its infinitive form, you can confidently know that the ‘o’ in ‘pro’ is taking the stem change.

After you find the vowel that is taking the stem change, remove the –‘ar’ to find the stem, ‘Pro’, in this instance. Now, conjugate ‘Pro’, with the regular endings always applying the stem change except in the subject pronouns ‘nosotros’ (and vosotros).

Probar-to try, to taste, to test

Probar — present tense

Subject (singular)	Form (singular)	Subject (plural)	Form (plural)
Yo	Pruebo	Nosotros	Probamos
Tú	Pruebas	Vosotros	Probáis
Usted	Prueba	Ustedes	Prueban
Él	Prueba	Ellos	Prueban
Ella	Prueba	Ellas	Prueban

It is important to note that, in the present progressive, the ‘-ir’ verbs, ‘dormir’ and ‘morir’ will take a o>u stem change. For example, ‘yo estoy durmiendo’ or ‘ellos están durmiendo’.

The third set of stem-changing verbs is ‘e>i’, see the following examples:

• Pedir – to ask for/to order (in a restaurant)
• Servir – to serve
• Repetir – to repeat
• Vestir – to dress
• Despedir – to say good-bye
• Sonreir – to smile
• Medir – to measure
• Freír – to fry
• Competir – to compete

Let’s conjugate ‘e>I’ stem(root)- changing verbs using the verb ‘pedir’. The first step is to figure out which vowel is going to take the stem change.

Like with the ‘e>ie’ and ‘o>ue’ stem changes, leave the verb in the infinitive when deciding which vowel is taking the stem change. Then count two syllables back from the end of the verb. The syllabic breakdown of ‘pedir’ is ‘Pe-dir’.

Now that you have found the penultimate syllable, by counting two syllables back from the end of verb in its infinitive form, you can confidently know that the ‘e’ in ‘pe’ is taking the stem change.

After you find the vowel that is taking the stem change, remove the –‘ir’ to find the stem, ‘Ped’, in this instance. Now, conjugate ‘Ped’, with the regular endings always applying the stem change except in the subject pronouns ‘nosotros’ (and vosotros).

Pedir-to ask, to order in a restaurant

Pedir — present tense

Subject (singular)	Form (singular)	Subject (plural)	Form (plural)
Yo	Pido	Nosotros	Pedimos
Tú	Pides	Vosotros	Pedís
Usted	Pide	Ustedes	Piden
Él	Pide	Ellos	Piden
Ella	Pide	Ellas	Piden

It is important to note that only ‘-ir’ verbs follow this stem-change pattern.

It is also important to note that in verbs such as ‘querer’, ‘preferer’, ‘sugerir’, ‘comenzar’, ‘recomendar’, ‘empezar’ and ‘poder’, once you conjugate these verbs in a sentence, normally, the next verb will remain in the infinitive. For example, ‘Yo quiero bailar’ (I want to dance). In this sentence, the verb ‘querer’ is conjugated and the verb, ‘bailar’ remains in the infinitive. Another example is ‘Yo prefiero comprar comida’ (I prefer to buy food). In this example, the verb ‘preferir’ is conjugated while the verb ‘comprar’ remains in the infinitive form. A third example, ‘Ella sugiere pedir las quesadillas en el restaurante’ (She suggests to order the quesadillas in the restaurant). In this example, the verb ‘sugerir’ is conjugated while the verb ‘pedir’ stays in the infinitive form.

Prepositions in Spanish

Prepositions are used in everyday conversation, just as they are in English. Prepositions are small words that help us connect other words in a sentence. They help us understand location, time and movement. Without them, our sentences would be confusing or incomplete. Below is a list of prepositions that are helpful to know when beginning to learn how to speak Spanish.

It is important to note that when using ‘con’ and expressing ‘with me’ or ‘with you’, it is important to say, ‘conmigo’ (with me) and ‘contigo’ (with you).

See the following list of prepositions in Spanish: