Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): En la cocina preparo té con limón y un poco de azúcar en una taza grande. - In the kitchen I prepare tea with lemon and a little sugar in a big cup.

In Spanish, en indicates location (“in the kitchen”), whereas a indicates movement or direction (“to the kitchen”). Since you’re saying where you prepare the tea (you’re already in the kitchen), you use en la cocina.

What does cocina mean here? Could it mean “cooking” instead of “kitchen”?

Here la cocina means the room, “the kitchen.” If you meant the action of cooking, you’d need context or an adjective: for example, la cocina española can mean “Spanish cuisine” (the cooking style).

Why is it preparo instead of hago té?

Although hacer can mean “to make,” Spanish speakers typically use preparar for food and drinks. Saying preparo té (“I prepare tea”) sounds more natural than hago té, which would be understood but is less idiomatic.

Why isn’t the subject pronoun yo included before preparo?

Spanish verb endings already show the subject. The -o in preparo tells you the speaker is “yo.” You’d only add yo for emphasis or contrast (e.g., Yo preparo el té, not Juan).

Why is there no article before té? Could you say el té?

Dropping the article makes it a general statement about tea. You can say el té when you refer to a specific tea (e.g., El té de manzanilla calmó mis nervios). Here, since it’s simply “tea with lemon,” no article is needed.

Why do we use con between té and limón, but y before un poco de azúcar?

Con means “with” and introduces an ingredient: té con limón (“tea with lemon”). After that, y (“and”) links another separate ingredient: té con limón y un poco de azúcar.

Why is it un poco de azúcar and not just un poco azúcar?

When describing a small amount of an uncountable noun, Spanish requires un poco de + noun. Omitting de (as in un poco azúcar) is grammatically incorrect.

What’s the difference between un poco de azúcar and poco azúcar?

Un poco de azúcar means “a little bit of sugar” (just a small quantity). Poco azúcar (without un or de) implies “not much sugar” or “hardly any sugar,” often conveying that it’s not sweet enough or very lightly sweetened.

Why does the adjective grande come after taza instead of before it?

In Spanish most adjectives follow the noun: una taza grande. Placing grande before the noun (una gran taza) changes the nuance to “a great cup” or “an impressive cup,” not just its size.

Why is it en una taza grande, and could you say en la taza grande?

Using una indicates any large cup, unspecified. If you use la, you refer to a particular large cup known in the conversation (e.g., en la taza grande que compraste ayer). Here it’s generic, so una taza grande is correct.