Spanish 1/Adjectives & In a restaurant

Chapter 11 (Adjectives & In a restaurant)

Gender

hombre - man
mujer - woman
joven - young man, young woman
anciano(a) - elderly

Descriptions

alto(a) - tall
bajo(a) - short (stature)
corto(a) - short (length)
guapo(a) - good-looking (mostly use in Spain)
buenmozo(a) - handsome (mostly use to describe males)
bello(a) - beautiful (mostly use to describe females)
bonito(a) - beautiful (general usage)
feo(a) - ugly
joven - young
largo(a) - long
viejo(a) - old

Hair descriptions

pelo - hair (on body or head)
cabello - head hair
canoso(a) - gray
castaño - brown (chestnut)
negro(a) - black
rubio(a) - blond
pelirrojo(a) - red-haired

Useful expressions

tener calor - to be hot
tener frío - to be cold
tener sueño - to be sleepy
tener hambre - to be hungry
tener sed - to be thirsty

Menu terms

delicioso(a) - delicious
desear - to want
pedir - to order
¿Qué va a pedir usted? ¿Qué van a pedir ustedes?
plato principal - main dish
de plato principal - as a main dish
postre - dessert
de postre - for dessert
¿Cómo está la comida?
La comida está muy rica.
La comida está deliciosa. (The food is delicious)

On the table

¿Me pasa(s) la/el...? (Will you pass me the...?)
azúcar - sugar
cuchara - spoon
cuchillo - knife
pimienta - pepper
plato - plate, dish
sal - salt
servilleta - napkin
taza - cup
tenedor - fork
vaso - glass

Note: Sal is a feminine noun, therefore the salt would be la sal.

In a restaurant

camarero - waiter
camarera - waitress
mesero - waiter
mesera - waitress
mesonero - waiter
mesonera - waitress
cuenta - bill
propina - tip
menú - menu

To order

Me falta(n) ... - I need ...
Quisiera ... - I would like to ...
traer - to bring
Le traigo ... - I will bring you ...
¿Me trae ...? Will you bring me ...?
Traigo ... - I bring ...

Other words

ahora - now
¿Algo más? - Anything else?
De nada. - You're welcome.
otro(a) - other, another
¡Qué ...! - How ...!
Qué delicioso! - How delicious!

Venir (to come)

Like tener, venir is an irregular verb that has the same rule. In venir and tener, the e becomes ie except in nosotros(as) and vosotros(as). Like tener, the yo form is irregular from the rest as well.

vengo - I come
vienes - you come (singular)
viene - he/she comes
venimos - we come
venís - you come (plural)
vienen - they come

Note: Remember that usted (Ud.) and ustedes (Uds.) are conjugated in the 3rd person form.

Vocabulario adicional

llevar anteojos - to wear glasses
usar lentes - to wear glasses
calvo(a) - bald
delgado(a) - thin
gordo(a) - fat
barba - beard
bigote - moustache
pecas - freckles
pelo lacio/liso - straight hair
pelo rizado - curly hair
trenzas - braids

Cultural Insight (Plazas)

In most Spanish cities, the plaza is the heart of nearly all activity, filled with cafés, a park, and usually the local market. It is usually the center of administration, held by three closely related institutions: the cathedral, the cabildo or administrative center, which might be incorporated in a wing of a governor's palace, and the audiencia or law court. The plaza might be large enough to serve as a military parade ground. At times of crisis or fiesta, it was the space where a large crowd might gather.

Country Focus (Panamá)

Panama (Spanish: Panamá) is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on an isthmus, some categorize it as a transcontinental nation connecting the north and south part of America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the north-west, Colombia to the south-east, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. It is an international business center and is also a transit country. Although Panama is also the 3rd largest economy in Central America, after Guatemala and Costa Rica, it has the largest expenditure on resource consumption, making the country the largest consumer in Central America.

Prior to the arrival of Europeans, Panama was widely settled by Chibchan, Chocoan, and Cueva peoples, among whom the largest group were the Cueva. On November 3, 1903, Panama broke off from Colombia. The US gunboat Nashville prevented the Colombian military from sailing to Panama. An assault through the dense Panamanian jungle was impossible. On December 20, 1989, twenty-seven thousand U.S. personnel invaded Panama in order to remove Manuel Noriega. Under the Torrijos-Carter Treaties, the United States turned over all canal-related lands to Panama on December 31, 1999. Panama also gained control of canal-related buildings and infrastructure as well as full administration of the canal.

Factbox:

-Official Languages: Spanish

-Other Languages: English, Native American languages

-Capital: Panama City (Ciudad de Panamá)

-Government: Democracy

-Area: 75,517 sq km (29,157 sq mi) (118th)

-Population: 3,322,576 (132nd)

-Religion: Christianity (Catholic 75%, Protestant 15%, few Orthodox and Mormons) 90%, Buddhism 2.1%, Judaism 0.4%, Hinduism 0.3%, Islam 0.3%, Bahá'i 0.1%, other (Non-religious, Animism) 6.8%

-Human Development: 0.840 (60th, HIGH)

-Independence: November 3, 1903

-Currency: Balboa, U.S. Dollar (secondary)