Welcome to Unit 5! In this unit, you'll learn everything you need for shopping in Colombia. Today we start at the market — one of the most vibrant and exciting places in any Latin American city. By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to name common fruits, vegetables, and food items. Let's head to Paloquemao market in Bogotá!
Learning tips
- Colombian markets are lively places — vendors often call out their products and prices. Listening to these calls is great practice!
- In Colombia, 'papa' means potato (not father, which is 'papá' with the stress on the last syllable). Watch that accent!
- 'Plátano' in Colombia usually refers to the cooking plantain, not the sweet banana (which is 'banano'). This is a key regional difference.
- Try to memorize food items by visualizing yourself shopping at a market — associating words with a scenario helps retention.
Warm-up & Active Recall
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| el centro | the center/downtown |
| el barrio | the neighborhood |
| el museo | the museum |
| la montaña | the mountain |
| el mercado | the market |
| visitar | to visit |
| conocer | to know/meet |
| hay | there is/there are |
| muchos | many |
| algunos | some |
Dialog
Valentina and Andrés are shopping at Paloquemao, one of Bogotá's largest traditional markets. Notice how they name different fruits and vegetables using the definite articles 'el' and 'la.' Valentina uses 'fresco' (fresh) and 'maduro' (ripe) to describe the produce — these adjectives must agree with the noun's gender (fresco/fresca, maduro/madura).
Vocabulary
Active words
| Word | IPA | Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| comprar | /komˈpɾaɾ/ | to buy | Regular -ar verb — compro, compras, compra... |
| la fruta | /la ˈfɾu.ta/ | the fruit | Feminine noun — 'la fruta fresca' (the fresh fruit) |
| la verdura | /la beɾˈðu.ɾa/ | the vegetable | Feminine noun — often used in plural: 'las verduras' |
| la papa | /la ˈpa.pa/ | the potato | In Latin America it's 'papa'; in Spain it's 'patata' |
| el plátano | /el ˈpla.ta.no/ | the plantain, banana | In Colombia, 'plátano' usually means cooking plantain; sweet banana is 'banano' |
| el tomate | /el toˈma.te/ | the tomato | Masculine despite ending in -e |
| la cebolla | /la seˈβo.ʝa/ | the onion | The 'll' is pronounced like 'y' in most of Latin America |
| el arroz | /el aˈros/ | the rice | A staple in Colombian cuisine — appears in almost every meal |
| fresco | /ˈfɾes.ko/ | fresh | Adjective — changes form: fresco/fresca/frescos/frescas |
| maduro | /maˈðu.ɾo/ | ripe | Adjective — changes form: maduro/madura/maduros/maduras |
Passive words
| Word | IPA | Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| la manzana | /la manˈsa.na/ | the apple | |
| la naranja | /la naˈɾan.xa/ | the orange | |
| la lechuga | /la leˈtʃu.ɣa/ | the lettuce | |
| el ajo | /el ˈa.xo/ | the garlic | |
| la zanahoria | /la sa.naˈo.ɾja/ | the carrot | |
| orgánico | /oɾˈɣa.ni.ko/ | organic |
Useful chunks
| Word | Translation |
|---|---|
| ir de compras | to go shopping |
| ¿cuánto cuesta? | how much does it cost? |
Grammar: Stem-changing verbs: o→ue (poder, costar)
| Pronoun | poder (can) | costar (to cost) |
|---|---|---|
| yo | puedo | — |
| tú | puedes | — |
| él/ella/usted | puede | cuesta |
| nosotros | podemos | — |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | pueden | cuestan |
Stem-changing verbs are verbs where the vowel in the stem changes in certain forms. Today we focus on the o→ue change.
Poder (to be able to / can) changes its 'o' to 'ue' in all forms except nosotros:
- yo puedo, tú puedes, él/ella puede, nosotros podemos, ellos pueden
Costar (to cost) follows the same pattern but is typically used only in third person:
- cuesta (it costs) — singular: '¿Cuánto cuesta el arroz?'
- cuestan (they cost) — plural: '¿Cuánto cuestan las papas?'
This stem change happens because the stress falls on the 'o' in most forms, but in nosotros the stress shifts away. Think of it as the stressed 'o' breaking into 'ue.'
You'll encounter more stem-changing verbs in this unit — they're very common in everyday Spanish!
Exercises
Fill in the Blanks
Complete each sentence with the missing word.
- Voy a frutas en el mercado.(verb: to buy)
- Las son muy frescas hoy.(noun: vegetables, plural)
- Necesito un maduro para el desayuno.(noun: plantain/banana)
- La y el tomate son para la ensalada.(noun: onion)
- El es un ingrediente básico en Colombia.(noun: rice)
Grammar Application
Conjugate the verb in parentheses to complete each sentence.
- Yo comprar papas. (poder)(first person singular of 'poder': o→ue)
- ¿Cuánto los tomates? (costar)(third person plural of 'costar': o→ue)
- Tú ir al mercado conmigo. (poder)(second person singular of 'poder': o→ue)
- El plátano mil pesos. (costar)(third person singular of 'costar': o→ue)
- Nosotros comprar verduras frescas. (poder)(first person plural of 'poder': no stem change)
Translation (English → Spanish)
Translate each sentence into Spanish.
- I want to buy fresh fruits.
- The potatoes are very good.
- How much do the plantains cost?
- I need onions and tomatoes.
- The rice is fresh.
Creative Construction
Write a short market shopping scenario (2-3 sentences) using at least 4 words from this lesson.
Takeaway
Stem-changing verbs (o→ue) like 'poder' and 'costar' change their stem vowel in all forms except nosotros. Use '¿Cuánto cuesta?' for one item and '¿Cuánto cuestan?' for multiple items.