Meals at home (AQA GCSE Spanish): Revision Notes
Meals at home
Essential vocabulary
Understanding key words about food, drinks, and meal times will help you discuss eating habits and family routines in Spanish. Building a strong vocabulary foundation is essential for successful communication about daily routines and family activities.
When learning Spanish food vocabulary, pay attention to gender patterns. Most words ending in -a are feminine, while those ending in -o are typically masculine. This will help you use the correct articles (el/la).
Food and drinks
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| el agua (f) | water |
| el café | coffee |
| el desayuno | breakfast |
| el pescado | fish |
| el pollo | chicken |
| la bebida | drink |
| la carne | meat |
| la cena | evening meal |
| la comida | meal, food, lunch |
| la ensalada | salad |
| las verduras | vegetables |
| el arroz | rice |
Important verbs
These are the most frequently used verbs when discussing meals and food preparation:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| beber | to drink |
| comer | to eat |
| hacer | to make, do |
| preparar | to prepare |
| cocinar | to cook |
Time expressions for meals
When talking about when you eat meals, these expressions are particularly useful:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| por la mañana | in the morning |
| por las tardes | in the afternoons/evenings |
| durante la semana | during the week |
| los fines de semana | at weekends |
| los domingos | on Sundays |
Notice that Spanish uses "por" (not "en") with time periods like "por la mañana" and "por las tardes". This is a common pattern you'll see throughout Spanish time expressions.
Telling the time for meals
Learning to express when meals happen is essential for describing daily routines. Spanish has specific patterns for telling time that you need to master.
Critical Time Telling Rules:
The key difference in Spanish time telling is between singular and plural forms:
- Use es la una for one o'clock only (singular)
- Use son las for ALL other hours (plural)
This is one of the most common mistakes Spanish learners make!
Basic time telling rules
To say "it is" plus the hour, you use different forms:
- es la una (it's one o'clock) - singular because "una" is singular
- son las dos, son las nueve, son las diez (it's two, nine, ten o'clock) - plural for all other hours
To say "at" a specific time:
- a la una (at one o'clock)
- a las doce (at twelve o'clock)
Adding minutes
When the time includes minutes past the hour, add "y" (and):
- y cinco (five past)
- y diez (ten past)
- y cuarto (quarter past)
- y veinte (twenty past)
- y veinticinco (twenty-five past)
- y media (half past)
When it's minutes to the hour, use "menos" (minus/to):
- menos cinco (five to)
- menos diez (ten to)
- menos cuarto (quarter to)
Worked Example: Time Expressions
Let's practice with common meal times:
Breakfast time:
- Son las ocho y media → It's half past eight
- Desayunamos a las ocho y media → We have breakfast at half past eight
Lunch time:
- Es la una y cuarto → It's quarter past one
- Comemos a la una y cuarto → We eat at quarter past one
Dinner time:
- Son las siete menos cuarto → It's quarter to seven
- Cenamos sobre las siete → We have dinner at around seven
Example time expressions
- Son las doce y media - It's half past twelve
- A la una y diez - At ten past one
- Son las diez menos cuarto - It's quarter to ten
- Sobre las seis - At about six
Example sentences
Here are some practical sentences you can use when discussing meals at home. These examples show how to combine vocabulary with time expressions in real conversational contexts.
Practical Meal Conversations
Los domingos comemos en casa de mis abuelos. On Sundays we have lunch at my grandparents' house.
Hay cuatro personas en la familia. There are four people in the family.
Están los padres y los hijos. There are the parents and the children.
La familia está en la cocina. The family is in the kitchen.
Están comiendo pollo y ensalada. They are eating chicken and salad.
Son felices. They are happy.
Grammar tips
Understanding these grammar points will help you use meal vocabulary more accurately and sound more natural when speaking Spanish.
Pronunciation Notes
- Remember that "ll" in "pollo" is pronounced like "y" in "yes"
- "J" in "abuelos" sounds like a strong "h"
- Double "r" in "arroz" requires a rolling sound
Practice these sounds regularly - pronunciation is key to being understood!
Gender and Articles
- Most foods ending in "-a" are feminine: la carne, la cena, la ensalada
- Most foods ending in "-o" are masculine: el pollo, el pescado, el desayuno
- "El agua" is feminine but uses "el" because it starts with stressed "a"
This pattern helps you predict the correct article for new food vocabulary you encounter.
Translation practice
Test your understanding with these practical translation exercises that focus on common meal-related situations.
Translation Practice
Spanish to English:
- Por las tardes mi madre prepara la cena.
- Comemos pescado y verduras a las siete.
English to Spanish: 3. We drink coffee in the morning. 4. My family eats together on Sundays.
Answers:
- In the afternoons/evenings my mother prepares dinner.
- We eat fish and vegetables at seven o'clock.
- Bebemos café por la mañana.
- Mi familia come junta los domingos.
Key Points to Remember:
- Use es la una for one o'clock, but son las for all other times
- Por la mañana means "in the morning" - remember it's "por" not "en"
- Food vocabulary often follows gender patterns: -a endings usually feminine, -o endings usually masculine
- When describing meal times, a las means "at" (a las ocho = at eight o'clock)
- Menos is used for minutes to the hour, y for minutes past the hour
- Practice pronunciation regularly, especially the "ll", "j", and "rr" sounds
- Pay attention to gender patterns to help you learn new vocabulary more effectively