בערב אנחנו יושבות ליד המזרקה בסמטה ושותות קפה.

In Hebrew present tense, the verb form agrees with the subject in gender and number. So אנחנו יושבות... ושותות is what an all-female group says.

• יושבות, שותות = feminine plural
• יושבים, שותים = masculine plural, also used for a mixed group

English we does not show gender, but Hebrew present-tense forms do.

They come from these infinitives:

• לשבת = to sit
• לשתות = to drink

In the sentence, they appear in the feminine plural present form:

• יושבות = sit / are sitting
• שותות = drink / are drinking

It can mean both. Hebrew present tense usually does not make a strict distinction between:

• we sit / we drink
• we are sitting / we are drinking

So the exact English translation depends on context.

Because Hebrew normally does not use a separate present-tense word like English am / is / are in sentences like this. The forms יושבות and שותות already express the present.

So:

• אנחנו יושבות = we sit / we are sitting

There is no extra word for are needed.

The ב־ is an attached preposition meaning in / at. So בערב means in the evening or at evening.

Hebrew often combines ב־ with the definite article ה־. When that happens, the ה is not written separately. So a form like בערב can correspond to in the evening.

This is very common with time expressions such as:

• בבוקר = in the morning
• בערב = in the evening
• בלילה = at night

Because ליד is a separate preposition meaning next to / by / near. It is not one of the short attached prepositions like ב־, ל־, or כ־.

So Hebrew writes:

• ליד המזרקה = by the fountain

And the noun keeps its own definite article:

• המזרקה = the fountain

In unpointed Hebrew, בסמטה can be ambiguous in writing.

It could represent:

• ב + סמטה = in an alley
• ב + ה + סמטה = in the alley

Without vowel marks, both are written בסמטה. Usually the context or the translation tells you which one is intended. In this sentence, use the meaning you were given.

Because את is used before a definite direct object, not an indefinite one.

Here, קפה means coffee in a general sense, so Hebrew does not use את:

• שותות קפה = drinking coffee

But if you meant a specific coffee, you could say:

• שותות את הקפה = drinking the coffee

Because it is being used as a general, uncountable noun: coffee as a drink, not the coffee.

This is similar to English:

• We drink coffee not necessarily
• We drink the coffee

So שותות קפה is the natural phrasing.

Yes, it is very natural. Hebrew often puts a time expression first to set the scene:

• בערב אנחנו יושבות... = In the evening, we sit...

You could place בערב later, but putting it first sounds natural and gives the sentence a clear time frame right away. Hebrew word order is flexible, and the beginning of the sentence often shows what the speaker wants to highlight first.