Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Cuando estoy a punto de comprar un refresco, recuerdo cuánta azúcar tiene y elijo agua. - When I am about to buy a soda, I remember how much sugar it has and choose water.

Estoy a punto de comprar un refresco = I’m about to buy a soda (I’m just about to do it).
Voy a comprar un refresco = I’m going to buy a soda (future intention, but not necessarily immediate).

Estar a punto de emphasizes that the action is imminent, about to happen right now, not just planned for the future.

Why is it cuando estoy a punto de comprar and not cuando estoy a punto de comprando?

In Spanish, after prepositions like de, you must use the infinitive, not the -ando/-iendo form.

a punto de + infinitive → a punto de comprar
❌ a punto de comprando (incorrect)

The -ando/-iendo form (gerund) is used mainly:

with estar for ongoing actions: estoy comprando
to describe how something is done: entró corriendo (he came in running)

But after de, you use comprar, not comprando.

Why is the verb in recuerdo cuánta azúcar tiene in the present tense and not a future or conditional?

Spanish often uses the present tense where English might use present or some other tense.

In this sentence, the speaker is talking about something that always happens when they’re in that situation, so it’s a kind of general habit:

recuerdo = I (always / usually) remember
tiene = it has (as a fact, now and in general)

You might think of it as:
Whenever I’m about to buy a soda, I remember how much sugar it has (in general), and then I choose water.

Using present in Spanish for general truths and habits is very normal.

Why is it recuerdo and not me recuerdo or me acuerdo?

There are two common verbs:

recordar algo = to remember something
- recuerdo cuánta azúcar tiene = I remember how much sugar it has
  (no reflexive pronoun me)
acordarse de algo = to remember something
- me acuerdo de cuánta azúcar tiene = I remember how much sugar it has

So you can say:

recuerdo cuánta azúcar tiene ✅
me acuerdo de cuánta azúcar tiene ✅

But mixing them is wrong:

❌ me recuerdo cuánta azúcar tiene (incorrect)
❌ acuerdo cuánta azúcar tiene (incorrect)

Why does cuánta have an accent mark in recuerdo cuánta azúcar tiene if it’s not a question?

Spanish uses accent marks on qué, quién, cuál, cuánto, cómo, cuándo, dónde when they are:

in direct questions
- ¿Cuánta azúcar tiene?
in indirect questions (embedded questions)
- No sé cuánta azúcar tiene.
- Recuerdo cuánta azúcar tiene.

Even though the whole sentence is not written as a question, cuánta is part of an indirect question (“how much sugar it has”), so it keeps the accent.

When these words are not interrogative or exclamative, they usually do not have an accent:

Cuanta azúcar compro, la guardo aquí. (All the sugar I buy, I keep here.)

Why is it cuánta azúcar and not cuánto azúcar?

In Spanish, azúcar is grammatically a feminine or masculine noun, but it’s very often treated as feminine when specifying quantity.

Cuánto/cuánta must agree in gender with the noun:

cuánta azúcar (treating azúcar as feminine) — very common
cuánto azúcar (treating azúcar as masculine) — also possible but less usual in many regions

In everyday speech, cuánta azúcar is more common.

In cuánta azúcar tiene, what is the subject of tiene?

The subject is (el refresco), even though it’s not repeated.

The full idea is:

recuerdo cuánta azúcar tiene (el refresco)
→ I remember how much sugar the soda has.

Spanish can drop the subject when it’s clear from context. Here, tiene agrees with el refresco (third person singular).

Why do we use elijo instead of escojo or another verb for “choose”?

Both elegir and escoger mean to choose, but elegir is very common in more “deliberate” or slightly formal choices, like choosing between healthier and less healthy options.

elijo agua = I choose water
escojo agua = I choose water

Both are correct here. Elijo comes from elegir, which is an irregular verb:

yo elijo
tú eliges
él / ella elige, etc.

In many regions, elegir and escoger are almost interchangeable, though there can be slight regional or stylistic preferences.

Why is it simply elijo agua and not elijo el agua or la agua?

In Spanish, you can say:

elijo agua
elijo el agua

Both are possible, but they feel a bit different:

elijo agua: general, non-specific — I choose water (as a type of drink).
elijo el agua: more specific — I choose the water (e.g., a particular water that is available).

In this sentence, we’re talking about a general habit (choosing water instead of soda), so elijo agua (no article) is very natural.

You would not say la agua here because agua starts with a stressed a, and Spanish usually uses the masculine article el before it: el agua fría. But after verbs without an article, just agua is fine: quiero agua, bebo agua.

Why is it un refresco and not una soda? Is refresco the usual word?

In much of Latin America, refresco is a very common word for soft drink / soda. But usage varies by country:

refresco – widely understood, especially in Mexico and parts of Central America.
gaseosa – common in many South American countries.
soda – used in some areas (e.g., parts of Central America, Caribbean, and in contact with English).

Here, un refresco means a soda / a soft drink. The exact preferred word can change by region, but refresco is clear and neutral in many Latin American contexts.

Why is it cuando estoy a punto de comprar and not cuando esté a punto de comprar with subjunctive?

After cuando, Spanish can use indicative or subjunctive, depending on the meaning:

Indicative (estoy): for habits, repeated events, and facts.
- Cuando estoy a punto de comprar un refresco, recuerdo…
  → Whenever I’m about to buy a soda, I remember… (describes a habitual situation)
Subjunctive (esté): for future, hypothetical, or not yet realized events.
- Cuando esté a punto de comprar un refresco, recuérdame que…
  → When I’m about to buy a soda, remind me that… (talking about a future situation that hasn’t happened yet)

In your sentence, the speaker is describing a habit, so the indicative (estoy) is correct.

Why is the subject yo not written anywhere? How do we know who is doing the actions?

Spanish often omits the subject pronoun (yo, tú, él, etc.) because the verb endings already show who the subject is.

estoy → clearly yo
recuerdo → clearly yo
elijo → clearly yo

So:

(Yo) estoy a punto de comprar…
(Yo) recuerdo…
(Yo) elijo…

Saying yo is possible but usually only for emphasis:

Yo, cuando estoy a punto de comprar un refresco, recuerdo… (I, personally, when I’m about to buy a soda, I remember…)

In neutral conversation, it’s more natural to leave yo out here.

Is Cuando estoy a punto de comprar un refresco talking about one specific time or about a general habit?

With the present indicative and without any time markers, it usually describes a general habit or repeated situation:

Cuando estoy a punto de comprar un refresco, recuerdo…
→ Whenever I’m about to buy a soda, I remember…

If you wanted to talk about a specific moment in the future, you’d probably change other parts of the sentence or the context, e.g.:

Cuando esté a punto de comprar un refresco, recuérdame esto.
→ When I’m about to buy a soda (on that occasion), remind me of this.

In the original sentence, it clearly sounds like a habitual behavior.