Guarda la pasta y el arroz en la despensa, y deja la bandeja limpia sobre la mesa.

Because this sentence is giving instructions, so it uses the affirmative tú imperative (the informal singular command form).

• guardar → guarda
• dejar → deja

So the sentence is speaking to you informally, as in Put away... and leave/put...

In Spanish, this form is very common for everyday instructions, recipes, directions, and household tasks.

It is understood, not stated. Spanish often leaves subject pronouns out when they are clear from the verb form.

So:

• Guarda...
• deja...

already tell you that the speaker is addressing tú.

If you added the pronoun, it would be:

• Tú guarda...

But that sounds unnecessary in most contexts. Spanish usually omits tú unless the speaker wants emphasis, contrast, or clarity.

Spanish uses definite articles much more often than English does.

In this sentence, the articles help make the nouns sound natural and complete:

• la pasta
• el arroz
• la despensa
• la bandeja
• la mesa

English often says put pasta and rice in the pantry, with no article before pasta or rice. Spanish normally prefers the article here.

This is especially common with:

• everyday objects
• food items
• places in the house
• things already understood from the situation

So even when English would use no article, Spanish often uses el/la.

Because nouns in Spanish have grammatical gender.

• pasta is feminine → la pasta
• arroz is masculine → el arroz

This does not mean pasta is biologically female or rice is biologically male. It is just a grammatical category that affects articles and adjectives.

You usually need to learn the noun together with its article:

• la pasta
• el arroz
• la bandeja

That makes it easier to remember gender correctly.

La despensa means pantry or larder: the place where dry food and household food supplies are stored.

In Spain, despensa is a normal word for that storage space. Depending on the house, it might be:

• a pantry
• a food cupboard
• a small storage room for food

So it is a very natural household word in Peninsular Spanish.

Because the prepositions express different kinds of location.

• en la despensa = in the pantry
• sobre la mesa = on the table

Here:

• en is used for being inside a place or space
• sobre is used for being on top of a surface

In many cases, Spanish can also use encima de for on top of, but sobre is perfectly natural here.

Because limpia is an adjective describing la bandeja.

• la bandeja limpia = the clean tray

In Spanish, adjectives often come after the noun, unlike English, where they usually come before it.

So:

• English: the clean tray
• Spanish: la bandeja limpia

That is the normal order.

Because the adjective must agree with the noun it describes.

• bandeja is feminine singular
• so the adjective must also be feminine singular → limpia

Compare:

• el plato limpio = the clean plate
• la bandeja limpia = the clean tray
• los platos limpios = the clean plates
• las bandejas limpias = the clean trays

This agreement is a very important feature of Spanish grammar.

In this sentence, it most naturally means that the tray is clean when you leave/place it on the table.

So limpia is describing la bandeja, not acting as a separate command.

Structure:

• deja = leave/put
• la bandeja limpia = the clean tray
• sobre la mesa = on the table

A learner may wonder whether it means clean the tray and then leave it, but grammatically that is not what this sentence directly says. If Spanish wanted to express clean the tray, it would usually use a verb such as limpia la bandeja.

It can feel like either in English, depending on context.

The verb dejar often means:

• to leave
• to put down
• to leave something somewhere

So in this sentence, deja la bandeja limpia sobre la mesa is something like:

• leave the clean tray on the table or
• put the clean tray on the table

Spanish dejar is often broader than a single English verb.

The comma separates two linked instructions:

• Guarda la pasta y el arroz en la despensa
• y deja la bandeja limpia sobre la mesa

In Spanish, a comma before y is not always necessary, but it can be used when:

• the sentence is a bit long
• the writer wants a clear pause
• two complete actions are being separated for clarity

So this comma is natural and helps readability. You may also see the sentence written without it in some contexts.

Grammatically, it is one command with two direct objects joined by y:

• la pasta
• el arroz

So guarda applies to both:

• put away the pasta
• put away the rice

Spanish does not need to repeat the verb:

• Guarda la pasta y el arroz...

That is completely normal and efficient.

Yes, Spanish word order is flexible, but the original order is the most natural for a simple instruction.

For example, Spanish could say:

• Guarda en la despensa la pasta y el arroz...

and that is still grammatical. But the original:

• Guarda la pasta y el arroz en la despensa...

sounds very straightforward and neutral.

Likewise:

• Deja sobre la mesa la bandeja limpia

is possible, but

• deja la bandeja limpia sobre la mesa

is more natural in ordinary speech.

Yes, it works perfectly in Spain, but it is also standard Spanish more generally.

For Spain in particular:

• the tú command forms guarda and deja are completely normal
• despensa is a very natural household word
• the whole sentence sounds standard and everyday

So there is nothing odd or especially regional here; it is clear, neutral Spanish that would be understood everywhere.