When you’re eating out at a Spanish-speaking restaurant, knowing some basic Spanish vocabulary can make the ordering process a little easier. Placing your order basically consists of two parts: ordering a beverage and ordering food. But first you need to get the attention of your server.
Calling a waiter over to your table
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If your waiter is a man, the appropriate way to address him depends on where you are. A waiter in Argentina is a mozo(moh-soh) or “young man.” But, calling someone mozo in Chile is offensive. In Chile, you say, garzón(gahr-sohn), which is derived from the French word for “young man.” If you call the waiter by either of these terms in Mexico, he may not react. You can better get his attention by saying joven(Hoh-bvehn), meaning “young,” even if he isn’t so young. In Spain, a waiter is a camarero(kah-mah-reh-roh).
When a woman is serving you, call her simply señorita(seh-nyoh-ree-tah), meaning “Miss,” no matter where you are.
Ordering a beverage
Many people like to order an aperitif, or cocktail, before dinner. One popular local liquor is aguardiente(ah-gooahr-deeehn-teh), which translates as “fire water,” and is made out of grapes, tequila(teh-kee-lah), and mezcal(mehs-kahl). In Chile and Peru, people like “pisco(pees-koh)sour,” a cocktail made with pisco (another liquor made from grapes), sugar, and lemon juice.
Agua(ah-gooah) in Mexico can mean “water,” which is its exact translation, but it can also be a beverage made with water, fruit, and sugar. All fruits, and even some vegetables, make refreshing aguas. In Chile, aguita(ah-goo-ee-tah), meaning “little water,” can be an herb tea served after a meal.
Following are a few more phrases you may hear or want to use when ordering beverages:
- Escoger un vino(ehs-koh-Hehr oon bvee-noh) (choose a wine)
- ¡Salud!(sah-lood) (Cheers!)
- Tomar un refresco (toh-mahr oon reh-frehs-koh) (drink a soda pop)
- Tomar un trago(toh-mahr oon trah-goh) (have a drink [alcoholic])
- Un vaso de agua(oon bvah-soh deh ah-gooah) (a glass of water)
- Un vaso de leche(oon bvah-soh deh leh-cheh) (a glass of milk)
Ordering a main course
In order to make a selection, you may want to ask questions about various dishes on the menu. Here are a few helpful phrases:
- ¿Qué nos recomienda?(keh nohs reh-koh-meeehn-dah) (What do you suggest?)
- ¿Con qué está servido?(kohn keh ehs-tah sehr-bvee-doh) (What does it come with?)
- ¿Qué ingredientes tiene?(keh een-greh-dee ehn-tehs tee eh-neh) (What are the ingredients?)
- ¿Qué más trae el plato?(keh mahs trah-eh ehl plah-toh) (What else is in the dish?)
Your server may have occasion to use the following phrases:
- ¿Están listos para ordenar?(ehs-tahnlees-tohs pah-rah ohr-deh-nahr)(Are you ready to order?)
- Está caliente.(ehs-tah kah-lee ehn-teh) (It’s hot [temperature].)
- Está picante.(ehs-tah pee-kahn-teh) (It’s hot [flavor/spicy].)
- Está frío.(ehs-tah freeoh) (It’s cold.)
- Lamento, no tenemos . . .(lah-mehn-toh noh teh-neh-mohs) (Sorry, we don’t have any . . .)
Spanish verbs fall into different groups, and each group is conjugated a little differently. If you’re going to master Spanish verbs like ir, you need to be able to identify which group a verb belongs to: regular (follows regular conjugation rules for -ar, -er, and -ir verbs), stem-changing (morphs depending on how you use it in a sentence), spelling-changing (has consonant-spelling changes in some forms to follow pronunciation rules), or reflexive (reflects the action back on the subject of the sentence).
But then there are those verbs that refuse to be lumped into a category: the irregulars. Other popular irregular Spanish verbs include: ser, tener, dormir, and hacer Ir (eer) (to go) is the ultimate irregular –ir verb; that’s all it is, i and r!It doesn’t follow most normal ending patterns, so your best bet is to just memorize its conjugations. Here it is in the present tense:
Conjugation | Translation |
---|---|
yo voy | Igo |
tú vas | You(informal)go |
él/ella/ello/uno va | He/she/onegoes |
usted va | You (formal)go |
nosotros vamos | Wego |
vosotros váis | Youall (informal)go |
ellos/ellas van | Theygo |
ustedes van | You all (formal)go |
![Spanish Spanish](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61ZHF3RZnnL._SS500.jpg)
The following examples show you ir in action:
- Nosotros vamos al teatro a veces. (We go to the theater sometimes.)
- Mi madre va al supermercado ahora. (My mother is going to the supermarket now.)
The following table shows you ir in the preterit tense. Think you’ve seen these conjugations before? You probably have; it just so happens that they’re also the preterit forms of the verb ser (to be). It may be confusing, but look on the bright side: It’s one fewer set of verbs you have to memorize.
Conjugation | Translation |
---|---|
yo fui | Iwent |
tú fuiste | You (informal)went |
él/ella/ello/uno fue | He/she/onewent |
usted fue | You (formal)went |
nosotros fuimos | Wewent |
vosotros fuisteis | You all (informal)went |
ellos/ellas fueron | Theywent |
ustedes fueron | You all (formal)went |
You use the preterit tense like this:
- Los turistas fueron al museo. (The tourists went to the museum.)
- ¿Fueron ustedes al baile? (Did you go to the dance?)
Ir is one of only three irregular imperfect verbs. Here’s that conjugation; notice that, like regular verbs, the first-person and third-person singular forms (yo and usted) are the same.
Conjugation | Translation |
---|---|
yo iba | I used togo |
tú ibas | You (informal) used togo |
él/ella/ello/uno iba | He/she/one used togo |
usted iba | You (formal) used togo |
nosotros íbamos | We used togo |
vosotros ibais | You all (informal) used togo |
ellos/ellas iban | They used togo |
ustedes iban | You all (formal) used togo |
Here are some examples of the imperfect tense:
- Yo iba a Europa cada año. (I used to go to Europe every year.)
- Nosotros íbamos a Chicago. (We used to go to Chicago.)
Good news! Ir is regular in the future tense, so you can apply the regular verb endings here.
How Do You Say Go Play In Spanish
Conjugation | Translation |
---|---|
yo iré | I willgo |
tú irás | You (informal) willgo |
él/ella/ello/uno irá | He/she/one willgo |
usted irá | You (formal) willgo |
nosotros iremos | We willgo |
vosotros iréis | You all (informal) willgo |
ellos/ellas irán | They willgo |
ustedes irán | You all (formal) willgo |
The following samples put the future tense to work:
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- Nosotros Iremos a Orlando. (We will go to Orlando/) Free video poker sites.
- Yo iré a tu casa esta tarde. (I will go to your house this afternoon.)