Opinions about food (Edexcel GCSE Spanish): Revision Notes
Opinions about food
Asking about and describing food
When travelling or eating out, you'll need to express opinions about food. The key question to start conversations about food is:
¿Qué tal la comida? - How's the food?
This versatile question can be used in restaurants, at friends' homes, or any dining situation to show interest and start a conversation about the meal.
Essential food opinion vocabulary
Understanding how to describe food quality is essential for everyday conversations in Spanish-speaking countries. Here are the most common expressions:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| está muy buena | it's very good |
| está muy rica | it's very tasty |
| está fría | it is cold |
| está caliente | it is hot |
| dulce | sweet |
Ejemplo Práctico: Describing Food at a Restaurant
- La paella está muy rica. - The paella is very tasty.
- El café está caliente. - The coffee is hot.
- Esta sopa está fría, ¿puede calentarla? - This soup is cold, can you heat it up?
Notice that "rica" specifically refers to taste, while "buena" is more general and can refer to overall quality. Both are commonly used to compliment food.
Dietary preferences and restrictions
When dining out, you may need to communicate dietary requirements or restrictions. This vocabulary is particularly important for your health and comfort:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| soy vegetariano/a | I am a vegetarian |
| soy vegano/a | I am a vegan |
| soy alérgico/a | I am allergic |
| con | with |
| sin | without |
Ejemplo Práctico: Communicating Dietary Needs
- Soy vegetariana, no como carne. - I am a vegetarian, I don't eat meat.
- Una ensalada sin pollo, por favour. - A salad without chicken, please.
- Soy alérgico/a a los mariscos. - I am allergic to seafood.
Always clearly communicate allergies using "Soy alérgico/a a..." This is crucial information that restaurant staff need to know for your safety.
Describing cost and enjoyment
These expressions help you discuss the value and experience of your meal:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| disfrutar | to enjoy |
| caro/a | expensive |
| barato/a | cheap |
| probar | to try |
| ¡Buen provecho! | Enjoy your meal! |
Ejemplo Práctico: Discussing Restaurant Experience
- Este restaurante es muy caro. - This restaurant is very expensive.
- Voy a probar el pescado. - I'm going to try the fish.
- ¡Buen provecho! - Enjoy your meal! (said to others who are eating)
Grammar focus: Irregular preterite verbs
Several important verbs have irregular forms in the preterite tense. These are essential for describing past experiences with food and travel, and frequently appear in exams.
Key irregular preterite verbs
The following verbs follow completely irregular patterns in the preterite and must be memorised:
| poder (to be able) | tener (to have) | poner (to put) |
|---|---|---|
| pude | tuve | puse |
| pudiste | tuviste | pusiste |
| pudo | tuvo | puso |
| pudimos | tuvimos | pusimos |
| pudisteis | tuvisteis | pusisteis |
| pudieron | tuvieron | pusieron |
| hacer (to do/make) | venir (to come) | querer (to want) |
|---|---|---|
| hice | vine | quise |
| hiciste | viniste | quisiste |
| hizo | vino | quiso |
| hicimos | vinimos | quisimos |
| hicisteis | vinisteis | quisisteis |
| hicieron | vinieron | quisieron |
Ejemplo Práctico: Using Irregular Preterite in Context
Step 1: Identify the irregular verb stem
- tener → tuv-
- hacer → hic-/hiz-
- poder → pud-
Step 2: Add the correct ending
- Tuve que esperar mucho tiempo. - I had to wait a long time.
- El chef hizo la comida rápidamente. - The chef made the food quickly.
- No pude comer la tortilla. - I couldn't eat the omelette.
These irregular verbs do NOT follow normal preterite patterns. The third person singular of hacer changes to hizo (not hico) to maintain the /s/ sound.
Reading comprehension strategies
When reading about food experiences in Spanish, developing effective strategies will improve your understanding and exam performance:
- Look for time expressions that indicate when events happened
- Identify opinion words that show the speaker's feelings about food
- Pay attention to reason words like "porque" (because) that explain why something happened
- Notice dietary requirements or restrictions mentioned
Time expressions like "ayer" (yesterday), "anoche" (last night), or "la semana pasada" (last week) often signal that preterite verbs will follow, helping you anticipate the grammar structures you'll encounter.
Exam tips
Developing strong exam techniques is crucial for success in Spanish reading comprehension tasks:
- Multiple choice questions often test your understanding of why someone did or didn't do something
- Always read the text twice - once for general understanding, once for specific details
- Look for key words in both the question and the text that match
- Eliminate obviously wrong answers first, then choose between remaining options
Common Exam Mistake: Students often choose answers that contain words from the text without checking if the meaning actually matches the question. Always verify that your chosen answer makes logical sense.
Translation practice
Translation exercises help reinforce vocabulary and grammar structures. Work through these systematically:
Spanish to English:
- La comida está muy rica pero es cara.
- No pude comer el plato porque soy vegana.
English to Spanish:
- The food is cold and I don't like it.
- I had to catch a train so I left quickly.
Ejemplo Trabajado: Translation Solutions
Spanish to English:
- The food is very tasty but it's expensive.
- I couldn't eat the dish because I'm vegan.
English to Spanish:
- La comida está fría y no me gusta.
- Tuve que coger un tren así que salí rápidamente.
Note: "Coger" means "to catch/take" in Spain, while in Latin America "tomar" is more commonly used.
Key Points to Remember:
- Use ¿Qué tal la comida? to ask about food quality
- Learn the irregular preterite forms of key verbs like tener, hacer, and poder
- Practice describing dietary restrictions using "soy" + adjective
- In exam reading tasks, read questions first to know what to look for
- Time expressions and opinion words are crucial for understanding food-related texts
- Always communicate allergies clearly for your safety
- Master both "rica" (tasty) and "buena" (good) for describing food