Spanish · CEFR Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 20
La comidaThe food
The most common foods and drinks: pan, carne, pescado, fruta, agua, café, vino, leche. For "to be hungry" and "to be thirsty" Spanish uses "tener" + noun (NOT "ser/estar"): Tengo hambre = I'm hungry (literally "I have hunger"), Tengo sed = I'm thirsty — just like "tengo … años". For eating/drinking you also use "tomar" (to have, to take): Tomo un café. And "rico" = delicious: La comida es rica. New vocabulary: pan, carne, pescado, fruta, café, vino, leche, rico, tomar. Culture section: mealtimes and sobremesa.
Dialogue
i
Study this section in the Bookverse app
- Spaced repetition schedules your reviews
- Practice tasks with pass tracking
- A teacher on every study screen
- Progress saved across chapters and devices — laptop and phone
- Audio playback for dialogues and words
- Speaking practice with feedback
- Search dictionaries and chat with AI, all inside the app
Sign up and start studying in the Bookverse app.
You will be asked to register first.
¿Soy o tengo hambre?— soy or tengo hambre?
- CarlosMike, ¿quieres comer?Mike, do you want to eat?
- MikeSí, soy hambre.Yes, I'm hungry. (slip: hunger uses tener, not ser — say "tengo hambre")
- CarlosCon hambre usamos "tener": tengo hambre. Como con la edad.With hunger we use "tener": tengo hambre. Like with age.
- MikeAh, tengo hambre y tengo sed. Quiero pan y agua.Ah, I'm hungry and thirsty. I want bread and water.
Dialogue
i
Study this section in the Bookverse app
- Spaced repetition schedules your reviews
- Practice tasks with pass tracking
- A teacher on every study screen
- Progress saved across chapters and devices — laptop and phone
- Audio playback for dialogues and words
- Speaking practice with feedback
- Search dictionaries and chat with AI, all inside the app
Sign up and start studying in the Bookverse app.
You will be asked to register first.
¡Qué rico!— So Tasty!
- LucíaCarlos, ¿qué comes?Carlos, what are you eating?
- CarlosComo pescado con pan. Es muy rico.I'm eating fish with bread. It's very tasty.
- Lucía¿Y qué bebes?And what are you drinking?
- CarlosTomo un café con leche. ¿Quieres fruta?I'm having a coffee with milk. Do you want fruit?
Vocabulary
i
Study this section in the Bookverse app
- Spaced repetition schedules your reviews
- Practice tasks with pass tracking
- A teacher on every study screen
- Progress saved across chapters and devices — laptop and phone
- Audio playback for dialogues and words
- Speaking practice with feedback
- Search dictionaries and chat with AI, all inside the app
Sign up and start studying in the Bookverse app.
You will be asked to register first.
- pan
n.m.bread (m)
- carne
n.f.meat (f)
- pescado
n.m.fish (m)
- fruta
n.f.fruit (f)
- café
n.m.coffee (m)
- vino
n.m.wine (m)
- leche
n.f.milk (f)
- rico
adjectivetasty, delicious
- tomar
verbto have (food/drink), to take
Grammar
i
Study this section in the Bookverse app
- Spaced repetition schedules your reviews
- Practice tasks with pass tracking
- A teacher on every study screen
- Progress saved across chapters and devices — laptop and phone
- Audio playback for dialogues and words
- Speaking practice with feedback
- Search dictionaries and chat with AI, all inside the app
Sign up and start studying in the Bookverse app.
You will be asked to register first.
"Tengo hambre": tener + noun
Explanation
For "I'm hungry / thirsty" Spanish does NOT use "ser" or "estar", but "tener" + a noun: Tengo hambre (I have hunger), Tengo sed (I have thirst). It's the same pattern as age: Tengo veinte años. The classic English mistake is "soy/estoy hambre" — it doesn't exist; you must say "tengo hambre". For eating and drinking, besides "comer/beber", "tomar" is used a lot: Tomo un café (I have a coffee), ¿Qué tomas? And "rico" (delicious) is an adjective that agrees: el pan es rico, la fruta es rica. Phrases: Tengo hambre, quiero comer. Tomo agua porque tengo sed.
Examples
- Tengo hambre. Quiero comer pan y carne.I'm hungry. I want to eat bread and meat.
- Tengo sed. Tomo agua.I'm thirsty. I'll have water.
- El pescado es rico y la fruta es rica.The fish is tasty and the fruit is tasty.
- ¿Qué tomas? — Tomo un café con leche.What are you having? — I'll have a coffee with milk.
Culture
i
Study this section in the Bookverse app
- Spaced repetition schedules your reviews
- Practice tasks with pass tracking
- A teacher on every study screen
- Progress saved across chapters and devices — laptop and phone
- Audio playback for dialogues and words
- Speaking practice with feedback
- Search dictionaries and chat with AI, all inside the app
Sign up and start studying in the Bookverse app.
You will be asked to register first.
Horarios y sobremesaMealtimes & the sobremesa
In Spain people eat lunch and dinner later than in almost any other country — and the conversation after the meal, the sobremesa, is as important as the food.
Lunch at two, dinner at nine
Lunch (la comida) is around two or three in the afternoon, and it's the main meal of the day. Dinner comes late, around nine or ten at night. Breakfast is light: a coffee with milk and some bread.
The sobremesa
After eating, no one gets up right away. The sobremesa — staying at the table chatting, sometimes for hours — is the social heart of the meal. With family and friends, the conversation can last longer than the meal itself.
Tapas and sharing
Out of the house, it's very common to go for tapas: small plates shared among everyone, from bar to bar, with a small beer or a glass of wine. Eating is sociable: you share the food, the table, and the conversation.
In short: in Spain people eat late and unhurried. If you're invited to eat, don't watch the clock — lunch at two, dinner at nine, and stay for the sobremesa. What matters isn't just the food, but the people at the table.
Want to actually learn this — with audio, spaced repetition and progress tracking?
Study in the app →