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Le serveur prépare une tasse de thé chaud.

Le serveur prépare une tasse de thé chaud.
The waiter is preparing a cup of hot tea.
From Lesson 44:The verb to drink (boire)·French

Questions & Answers about Le serveur prépare une tasse de thé chaud.

Why is it "une tasse de thé" instead of "une tasse du thé"?
When you use a container or quantity word, like une tasse (a cup) or un verre (a glass), it is followed by a simple de (of). You drop the word for "the" (le, la, or les) that you might normally expect. So it is just une tasse de thé.
Why is the adjective "chaud" (hot) placed after "thé" (tea)?
In English, we say "hot tea," but in French, most adjectives—including colors, shapes, and temperatures like chaud—come after the noun they describe. That is why it is thé chaud.
Why does the translation say "is preparing" when the French verb is just "prépare"?
French doesn't have a separate "is doing" (present continuous) tense. The present tense prépare translates to both "prepares" and "is preparing". Here, "is preparing" makes the most natural sense in English.
Where is the verb "boire" (to drink) in this sentence?
Even though this lesson focuses on the irregular verb boire, this specific sentence uses the regular verb préparer (to prepare) to set a restaurant scene. You can imagine the next action being Il boit le thé chaud (He drinks the hot tea)!

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