Talking about food in Spanish using 'me gusta' and adjectives

Opinions on food

You can ask questions about what others like to eat and drink by using the verbs comer (to eat) and beber (to drink).

For example:

• ¿Qué te gusta comer? - What do you like to eat?

• ¿Qué te gusta beber? - What do you like to drink?

• ¿Qué no te gusta comer y beber? - What don’t you like to eat and drink?

You can respond to the question with your opinion, followed by the food or drink.

Remember to use the correct definite article (the word for ‘the’).

For example:

• Me gusta el chocolate - I like chocolate.

• No me gusta el pollo - I don’t like chicken.

• Me encanta la pizza - I love pizza.

A verb is a ‘doing’ word or an action, for example ‘play’, ‘run’, ‘read’.

However, when you say me gusta or no me gusta followed by the infinitives comer or beber you don’t need to use the definite article.

For example:

• Me gusta comer galletas y beber leche I like to eat biscuits and I like to drink milk.

Can you use the language in the table below to talk about what you like to eat and drink?

Click on the downloadable vocabulary list to see more words for different foods and drinks.

Plurals of food

To say that you like a plural food or drink item you will need to add n to me gusta (I like).

For example:

• Me gusta_n_ las verduras - I like vegetables.

• No me gusta_n_ los huevos - I don’t like eggs.

To say why you like or dislike a single food or drink item, use porque (because) and es (is) followed by an adjective.

Adjectives are words used to describe people, places or things.

It is important to make sure that adjectives agree with the noun (a word for a person, place or thing ) that they are describing and are changed to the masculine or feminine form to match the noun.

For example:

• Me gusta el chocolate porque es delicioso - I like chocolate because it is delicious.

• Me encanta la fruta porque es sabrosa - I love fruit because it is tasty.

• Me gusta la comida rápida porque es deliciosa pero no es sana - I like fast food because it is delicious but it is not healthy.

Can you use the table below to describe the different foods that you like or don’t like?

El agua is a feminine noun, despite using the definite article el, so any adjectives used to describe it should also be feminine.

Giving a reason in the plural

To say why you like or dislike a plural food or drink item use porque (because) and son (are) followed by an adjective.

You will still need to make the adjective masculine or feminine, but also remember to make it plural, by adding an s onto it.

For example:

• No me gustan los huevos porque son asqueroso_s_ - I don’t like eggs because they are disgusting.

• Me encantan las patatas fritas porque son deliciosa_s_ - I love chips because they are delicious.

Talking about dietary requirements

It may be useful to talk about any dietary requirements that you may have. For example:

• No me gusta la carne porque soy vegetariano/a - I don’t like meat because I am vegetarian.

• No como huevos porque soy vegano/a - I don’t eat eggs because I am vegan.

• No como nueces porque tengo alergia - I don’t eat nuts because I have an allergy.

Vegetarian_o_ and vegan_o_ are masculine adjectives, and vegetarian_a_ and vegan_a_ are feminine adjectives.

Saying what you eat for different meals

In Spanish, the verbs desayunar (to have breakfast), comer (to eat/have lunch), beber (to drink), merendar (to have an afternoon snack), cenar (to have dinner) and tomar (to have) can be used to describe what you eat or drink for each meal.

When you use these verbs you don’t need to use the definite article before the food or drink.

For example:

• Por la mañana, desayuno tostadas - In the morning, I have toast for breakfast.

• Para el almuerzo, como ensalada - For lunch, I eat salad.

• Normalmente tomo arroz con pollo - Normally I have rice with chicken.

• Todos los días meriendo fruta - Every day I have fruit for my afternoon snack.

• A veces ceno pescado y ensalada - Sometimes I have fish and salad for dinner.

• Para la cena, ¿bebes agua o zumo? - For dinner, do you drink water or juice?

Have a go at this activity to see how much you know about talking about food in Spanish.

Video

Watch the video and test your understanding of talking about food in Spanish in the short quiz!

Quiz