Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): Mi hermana prefiere una tostada con plátano y café hecho en la cafetera. - My sister prefers toast with banana and coffee made in the coffee maker.

Spanish often leaves out subject pronouns when the subject is clear. Here, mi hermana tells you who is doing the action, so adding ella would usually be unnecessary.

Mi hermana prefiere... = normal
Ella prefiere... = possible, but usually adds emphasis or contrast

So the sentence is completely natural as it is.

Why is the verb prefiere?

Prefiere is the third-person singular present form of preferir.

It matches mi hermana, which is she:

yo prefiero
tú prefieres
él / ella prefiere
nosotros preferimos
vosotros preferís
ellos prefieren

This verb is a stem-changing verb, so the e in preferir changes to ie in most present-tense forms:

preferir → prefiere

That is why it is not prefera or preferí.

Why is it mi and not mí?

Because mi without an accent means my, while mí with an accent means me after a preposition.

mi hermana = my sister
para mí = for me

So here you need mi because it is a possessive adjective.

What exactly does tostada mean in Spain?

In Spain, una tostada usually means a piece of toast or a serving of toasted bread, especially at breakfast.

It is very common in Spain to talk about breakfast using tostada in the singular:

una tostada con tomate
una tostada con mantequilla
una tostada con plátano

So here it does not mean the abstract English word toast in general. It means one toast portion.

Why is there una before tostada, but no article before café?

Because tostada is a countable item, while café is often treated as an uncountable drink in this kind of sentence.

una tostada = one piece / one serving of toast
café = coffee in general, as a drink

Spanish often omits the article with food and drink when speaking in a general way, especially in lists or preferences.

You could also say un café if you want to emphasize one coffee or one cup of coffee, but café by itself is very natural here.

Why is it plátano and not banana?

In Spain, plátano is the usual everyday word for banana.

A learner may know banana, and that word does exist in Spanish, but in Spain plátano is much more common in normal conversation.

So for Spanish from Spain, plátano is exactly what you would expect here.

Why is it con plátano and not con un plátano, con el plátano, or de plátano?

Because con plátano means banana is being mentioned as an ingredient or topping in a general way.

Compare these:

con plátano = with banana, as an ingredient/topping
con un plátano = with one banana, more specific and countable
con el plátano = with the banana, a particular banana already known
de plátano = banana-flavored, banana-based, or made of banana

So una tostada con plátano means toast with banana on it or served with banana, which fits the sentence naturally.

What is hecho en la cafetera doing grammatically?

It is a descriptive phrase modifying café.

hecho = made
en la cafetera = in the coffee maker

So café hecho en la cafetera means coffee made in the coffee maker.

This is a past participle used like an adjective. In English, we often do the same kind of thing:

freshly made coffee
home-cooked food

In Spanish, these descriptive participle phrases usually come after the noun, so café hecho en la cafetera is the normal order.

Why is it hecho and not hecha?

Because hecho agrees with café, and café is masculine singular.

In Spanish, adjectives and participles used adjectivally must agree with the noun they describe:

café hecho = masculine singular
bebida hecha = feminine singular
cafés hechos = masculine plural
bebidas hechas = feminine plural

So hecho is correct because it describes café.

Why does it say en la cafetera? Doesn’t en usually mean in?

Yes, literally it does mean in the coffee maker, and that works naturally in Spanish.

Spanish often uses en to express the place or method of preparation:

hecho en el horno = made in the oven
hecho en casa = made at home
hecho en la cafetera = made in the coffee maker

In English, we might also say made with a coffee maker, but Spanish commonly uses en in this kind of context.

How should I group the sentence when reading it?

A natural way to parse it is:

Mi hermana = subject
prefiere = verb
una tostada con plátano = first thing she prefers
y café hecho en la cafetera = second thing she prefers

So the sentence is basically:

My sister prefers [toast with banana] and [coffee made in the coffee maker].

That helps show that:

con plátano goes with tostada
hecho en la cafetera goes with café

Could the word order be changed?

Yes, but the original order is very natural.

Spanish normally puts descriptive phrases like hecho en la cafetera after the noun, so that part should stay after café.

You could rearrange the two food items:

Mi hermana prefiere café hecho en la cafetera y una tostada con plátano.

That still works, but it changes the flow slightly. The original sentence sounds like a normal breakfast preference, with the toast mentioned first and the coffee second.