Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Levanto mi vaso de agua antes de beber. - I lift my glass of water before drinking.

Levanto is the 1st-person singular present tense of levantar and means “I lift” or “I raise.”
Me levanto is the reflexive form and means “I get up” (e.g. from a chair or out of bed). Since you are lifting your glass (an external object), you use levanto without the reflexive me.

What’s the difference between levantar and alzar? Could I say alzo mi vaso de agua?

Both levantar and alzar can mean “to lift” or “to raise.”
• Levantar is more common in everyday Latin American Spanish.
• Alzar is slightly more formal or literary, and you’ll also hear it in Spain a bit more often.
Yes, you could say Alzo mi vaso de agua antes de beber, but Levanto sounds more neutral and conversational in Latin America.

Why do we say mi vaso de agua and not mi vaso del agua or mi vaso de la agua?

When you express the content of a container in Spanish, you use de + noun with no article:
• vaso de agua = “glass of water”
You only use del (de + el) if the thing is specific or previously mentioned (e.g. el vaso del agua que dejaste ayer). And although agua is grammatically feminine, singular agua takes el only with the definite article to avoid a double-a sound (e.g. el agua fría), but after de you simply say de agua.

Why isn’t there an article like el or un before mi vaso de agua? Why not el mi vaso?

In Spanish, when you use a possessive adjective (mi, tu, su, etc.), you never put another article before it. Mi already specifies which glass you mean (“my glass”), so el mi vaso would be redundant and ungrammatical.

Why is it antes de beber and not something like antes que bebo or antes de que bebo?

• antes de + infinitive is the standard way to say “before doing something”: antes de beber = “before drinking.”
• antes que is not used with an infinitive; it’s followed by a clause and (in most varieties) the subjunctive: antes de que beba.
To keep it simple and general, you use antes de + infinitive.

Could I include an object pronoun and say antes de beberlo?

Yes. If you want to make it explicit (“before drinking it”), you attach the pronoun lo to the infinitive: antes de beberlo. In casual speech it’s often omitted when it’s obvious you’re drinking the water in the glass.

Could I use tomar instead of beber? Which is more natural in Latin America?

Yes. Tomar is extremely common in Latin America for “to drink” (e.g. tomar agua, tomar un café). Beber is also correct but can sound slightly more formal or bookish. So you could say:
Levanto mi vaso de agua antes de tomarlo.

Why is the simple present (levanto, beber) used here instead of the present progressive (estoy levantando, estoy bebiendo)?

Spanish often uses the simple present to describe immediate, sequential actions or habits. The progressive (estar + gerund) emphasizes an action in progress right now. Since you’re describing a natural two-step sequence (“I lift… then I drink”), the simple present is more idiomatic:
Levanto mi vaso de agua antes de beber.