La fuente salpica un poco, así que mi hija no se sienta tan cerca.

Here, fuente means fountain.

It is a word with several meanings in Spanish, so context matters:

• la fuente = the fountain
• la fuente = the source
• la fuente = the typeface/font

Because the sentence talks about something that splashes, fountain is the natural meaning here.

Salpica comes from the verb salpicar, which means to splash or to spray droplets onto something.

So La fuente salpica suggests that the fountain throws out a bit of water onto the surrounding area. It is more specific than mojar, which just means to get wet or to wet.

A useful contrast:

• La fuente moja el suelo = The fountain wets the ground.
• La fuente salpica el suelo = The fountain splashes water onto the ground.

In Spanish, expressions like un poco often come after the verb when they describe the degree or amount of the action.

So salpica un poco is the most natural order here:

• salpica un poco = it splashes a little

You can move un poco in some contexts for emphasis, but the normal, neutral order is exactly what you see in the sentence.

Así que means so, therefore, or as a result.

It connects the two ideas:

• the fountain splashes a bit
• as a result, the daughter does not sit so close

It is a very common way to express consequence in everyday Spanish. In this sentence, it works much like English so.

Because the verb here is sentarse, which means to sit down or to sit oneself. It is a reflexive verb, so it uses reflexive pronouns like me, te, se, nos, os, se.

For mi hija, the correct form is:

• se sienta

So:

• mi hija se sienta = my daughter sits / sits down
• mi hija no se sienta = my daughter does not sit / does not sit down

If you said no sienta by itself, it would usually be understood as coming from a different verb, such as sentir or sentar, depending on context, so it would not mean the same thing.

In Spanish, no normally goes before the conjugated verb. With reflexive verbs, the reflexive pronoun stays attached to that verb structure.

So the pattern is:

• se sienta = she sits
• no se sienta = she does not sit

Compare:

• me levanto → no me levanto
• te acuestas → no te acuestas
• se sienta → no se sienta

For English speakers, this placement can feel unusual at first, but it is the standard Spanish word order.

No. In this sentence, se sienta is present indicative, not subjunctive.

Why this can be confusing:

• se sienta can also be a subjunctive form in other contexts
• but here, así que introduces a real result, not a wish, doubt, or hypothetical idea

So here it simply means:

• mi hija no se sienta tan cerca = my daughter doesn’t sit so close

This is a statement of fact or usual behavior, so the indicative is the right mood.

Tan means so, while muy means very.

So:

• muy cerca = very close
• tan cerca = so close

In this sentence, tan cerca fits the idea of consequence: the fountain splashes, so the daughter does not sit so close.

English often uses so in the same kind of situation:

• It splashes, so she doesn’t sit so close.

If you changed it to muy cerca, the meaning would shift slightly:

• no se sienta muy cerca = she doesn’t sit very close

That is possible, but it is not exactly the same nuance.

Because cerca can be used in two slightly different ways:

• cerca on its own = nearby / close
• cerca de + noun/pronoun = close to something/someone

In your sentence, tan cerca stands alone, so de is not needed.

Compare:

• No se sienta tan cerca. = She doesn’t sit so close.
• No se sienta tan cerca de la fuente. = She doesn’t sit so close to the fountain.

Spanish often drops subject pronouns because the verb form already tells you who the subject is, or the subject is stated elsewhere.

Here, the subject is already clearly given as mi hija, so adding ella would usually be unnecessary:

• mi hija no se sienta tan cerca = natural
• mi hija ella no se sienta tan cerca = unnatural in normal Spanish

Spanish only adds the pronoun when there is a reason, such as contrast, emphasis, or avoiding ambiguity.

It can be understood as a habitual or general present.

That is very common in Spanish:

• La fuente salpica un poco = The fountain splashes a bit
• mi hija no se sienta tan cerca = my daughter doesn’t sit so close

This sounds like a general fact or usual behavior: because the fountain tends to splash, she usually avoids sitting too near it.

Depending on context, Spanish present tense can sometimes also describe what is happening now, but without more context, the most natural reading here is habitual.