Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): A veces tomo café por la mañana y agua por la tarde. - Sometimes I drink coffee in the morning and water in the afternoon.

tomo comes from tomar, which in much of Latin America is the most common everyday verb for to drink.
- tomar = to drink, to have (a drink, a pill, a class, etc.)
- beber also means to drink, but in many places it can sound a bit more formal or is used more in writing or when talking specifically about drinking liquids (especially alcohol).
- You could say A veces bebo café… and it would still be correct.
Spanish normally drops the subject pronoun when it’s clear from the verb form:
- tomo already tells you it’s I (first person singular), so yo is not needed.
- Yo tomo café… is also correct, but usually used for emphasis: I (as opposed to someone else) drink coffee…

Why is there no article before café and agua (no el or un)?

Spanish often omits the article with uncountable / mass nouns when speaking in general or about an unspecified amount.

tomo café ≈ I drink coffee / I have coffee (some coffee, not counted)
tomo agua ≈ I drink water / I have water

If you add an article, the meaning changes slightly:

tomo un café = I drink a coffee / one coffee (a cup or serving)
tomo el café por la mañana = I drink the coffee in the morning (a specific coffee we both know about, or coffee as a fixed routine in a more “packaged” sense)

So in this sentence, we’re talking about what you usually drink, not counting servings, so no article is natural.

Is agua masculine or feminine? Don’t we usually say el agua?

Agua is grammatically feminine, but:

Before a feminine noun that starts with a stressed “a” sound, Spanish usually uses el instead of la to make pronunciation smoother:
- el agua fría, el águila, el hacha
But these nouns remain feminine:
- el agua fría → adjective is feminine: fría, not frío.
- In the plural: las aguas frías (back to las, no pronunciation issue).

In the sentence tomo agua, there’s no article at all, so the el / la issue doesn’t come up. It’s just “I drink water (some water)”.

Why is it por la mañana and por la tarde instead of en la mañana / en la tarde?

Both por la mañana and en la mañana are heard in Latin America, but:

por la mañana / por la tarde is a very standard, neutral way to say:
- in the morning, in the afternoon (meaning during that time of day).
por here means “during / around / in the (time period)”.

en la mañana / en la tarde:

In many parts of Latin America, en la mañana is also common and natural in speech.
Some speakers feel por la mañana is a bit more standard or typical in written Spanish, but both are widely understood.

So:

tomo café por la mañana ≈ I drink coffee in the morning (during that time period).

Could we say por las mañanas instead of por la mañana? What’s the difference?

Yes, both are possible but there’s a nuance:

por la mañana
- Often used generally: in the morning (as a part of your day).
- Can refer to a typical pattern, but feels a bit less strongly “every single morning.”
por las mañanas
- More clearly means “in the mornings” as a habitual, repeated action.
- Suggests most or all mornings, as a regular routine.

So:

A veces tomo café por la mañana
→ Sometimes I drink coffee in the morning (not specifying every morning).
A veces tomo café por las mañanas
→ Sometimes I drink coffee in the mornings (sounds more like a recurring pattern on multiple mornings).

Why is there an accent in mañana? And how do we know if it means “morning” or “tomorrow”?

The accent mark in mañana is for stress and pronunciation:

Without any accent, Spanish stress rules would put the stress wrong.
mañana is stressed on the second syllable: ma-ÑA-na. The ñ is also a different letter from n.

The word mañana has two common meanings:

morning
- por la mañana = in the morning
tomorrow
- mañana voy al médico = tomorrow I’m going to the doctor

Context tells you which meaning is intended:

por la mañana / por la tarde / por la noche → clearly talking about time of day, so “morning”.
With a verb referring to the future and no time-of-day preposition, it’s usually “tomorrow”.

Can I put a veces somewhere else in the sentence?

Yes. A veces (sometimes) is quite flexible in position. All of these are correct:

A veces tomo café por la mañana y agua por la tarde.
Tomo café por la mañana y agua por la tarde a veces.
Tomo a veces café por la mañana y agua por la tarde.

Differences:

At the beginning (A veces tomo…) is very common and neutral.
At the end can sound a bit more casual or like an afterthought.
In the middle (Tomo a veces café…) is also fine, but you usually avoid putting it between the verb and a clitic pronoun (not an issue here).

Meaning remains “sometimes” in all cases; the change is mostly rhythm and emphasis.

Why is the verb in simple present (tomo) and not something like estoy tomando?

Spanish uses the simple present a lot for:

Habits and routines
- Tomo café por la mañana = I (usually) drink coffee in the morning.

Estoy tomando (present progressive) is more about an action happening right now:

Estoy tomando café = I am drinking coffee (right now, at this moment).

In your sentence:

A veces tomo café por la mañana…
describes a habit, not something you are doing right now, so tomo is the right choice.

Why is there only one tomo? Could we say tomo twice?

Spanish often omits a repeated verb when it’s the same for both parts, just as English can:

A veces tomo café por la mañana y agua por la tarde.

This is understood as:

A veces tomo café por la mañana y (tomo) agua por la tarde.

Repeating the verb is also correct:

A veces tomo café por la mañana y tomo agua por la tarde.

Repeating tomo can sound a bit more formal or emphatic, but both versions are fine.

Do we need a comma after A veces? In English we’d often write “Sometimes, I drink coffee…”

In Spanish, we normally do not put a comma after a short adverb like A veces at the start:

A veces tomo café por la mañana… ✔️ (most common)
A veces, tomo café por la mañana… ✔️ (possible, but less common, and many style guides avoid this comma)

So it’s different from English punctuation habits. Spanish is more conservative with commas after short introductory adverbs.

What’s the difference between a veces, algunas veces, a menudo, and de vez en cuando?

They all talk about frequency, but with slightly different feels:

a veces = sometimes
- Neutral, very common. Frequency: occasional.
algunas veces = some times / a few times
- Similar to a veces, but can sound a bit more countable / limited: a certain number of times.
de vez en cuando = from time to time / once in a while
- Feels a bit less frequent than a veces, or more “sporadic.”
a menudo = often / frequently
- More frequent than a veces. Suggests it happens quite regularly.

In your sentence:

A veces tomo café por la mañana… = Sometimes I drink coffee in the morning…
A menudo tomo café por la mañana… = I often drink coffee in the morning… (more frequent)
De vez en cuando tomo café por la mañana… = Every now and then I drink coffee in the morning… (less frequent).