La garrapata está en la pata.

Because both garrapata and pata are feminine singular nouns, so they take the definite article la.

• la garrapata = the tick
• la pata = the paw/leg

In Spanish, articles must agree with the noun in gender and number.

It uses está because the sentence is talking about location: where the tick is.

A very common guideline is:

• ser = what something is
• estar = where something is / how something is

So:

• La garrapata está en la pata = the tick is located on the paw/leg

If you used es, it would sound wrong here because location is normally expressed with estar.

Pata usually refers to the leg or paw of an animal.

Depending on context, it could be translated as:

• paw
• leg
• sometimes foot of an animal

In this sentence, English might say on the paw, on the leg, or even on the animal’s leg, depending on the situation.

A useful contrast:

• pierna = a person’s leg
• pata = an animal’s leg/paw

Garrapata means tick (the small parasite that attaches to animals or people).

Yes, it is the standard word in Spanish. It is feminine:

• la garrapata
• una garrapata

Plural:

• las garrapatas = the ticks

Yes, en often means in, but it can also mean on, depending on context.

So in this sentence:

• en la pata = on the paw/leg

Spanish uses en more broadly than English does. English often distinguishes between in and on, but Spanish frequently uses en for both.

Examples:

• Está en la caja = It is in the box.
• Está en la mesa = It is on the table.

A simple Latin American-style pronunciation guide:

• garrapata ≈ gah-rrah-PAH-tah
• pata ≈ PAH-tah

A few notes:

• The rr in garrapata is a strong rolled or trilled r.
• The stress is on pa in garrapata and on the first syllable in pata.
• Spanish vowels are usually short and clear:
  • a sounds like ah

So the full sentence sounds roughly like:

lah gah-rrah-PAH-tah es-TAH en lah PAH-tah

This is the most natural basic word order:

• subject + verb + prepositional phrase

So:

• La garrapata = subject
• está = verb
• en la pata = location

Spanish word order can sometimes change for emphasis, but this neutral version is the best one for learners.

For example, En la pata está la garrapata is possible, but it sounds more marked or literary, like emphasizing the location.

Normally, pata refers to an animal’s leg or paw, not a human leg.

For a person, Spanish usually says:

• la pierna = the leg
• el pie = the foot

So if you wanted to say The tick is on the leg and meant a human leg, you would usually say:

• La garrapata está en la pierna.

Yes, a few things:

1. False simplicity of en
   Learners often want a separate word for on, but Spanish commonly uses en.

2. ser vs. estar
   Location almost always takes estar, not ser.

3. Animal body-part vocabulary
   pata is not the usual word for a human leg.

4. The rolled rr in garrapata
   That sound can be difficult for English speakers.

So even though the sentence is short, it contains several very common Spanish patterns.

Yes, if you want an indefinite meaning.

Compare:

• La garrapata está en la pata. = The tick is on the paw/leg.
• Una garrapata está en una pata. = A tick is on a paw/leg.

Using la suggests the speaker has a specific tick and a specific paw/leg in mind. Using una makes it less specific.

Plural versions would be:

• Las garrapatas están en las patas. = The ticks are on the paws/legs.

Notice the changes:

• la → las
• garrapata → garrapatas
• está → están
• la pata → las patas

Everything agrees in number.