Deja las verduras sobre la encimera y luego corta el pan.

They are affirmative informal commands addressed to tú.

For regular -ar verbs, the tú affirmative command looks like the él/ella/usted present form:

• dejar → deja
• cortar → corta

So this sentence is giving instructions to one person in an informal way.

The command form changes depending on who you are addressing:

• tú: Deja las verduras... y luego corta...
• usted: Deje las verduras... y luego corte...
• vosotros (informal plural, very common in Spain): Dejad las verduras... y luego cortad...
• ustedes: Dejen las verduras... y luego corten...

Since this is Spanish from Spain, vosotros is especially worth learning.

Spanish often leaves out subject pronouns because the verb form already tells you who the subject is.

So instead of saying Tú deja..., Spanish normally just says Deja...

Adding tú is possible, but it usually adds emphasis, contrast, or impatience.

Spanish uses definite articles more often than English does.

Here, las verduras and el pan refer to the vegetables and the bread that are already understood in the situation, so the definite article sounds natural.

In English, we often drop the article in instructions, but Spanish usually keeps it:

• corta el pan
• lava las manos
• abre la puerta

This is very normal Spanish usage.

Because verduras often refers to a collection or assortment of vegetables.

In everyday Spanish, especially in cooking contexts, the plural is very common when talking about vegetables as ingredients or produce.

The singular verdura exists, but verduras is often more natural when you mean vegetables in general or several kinds of vegetables.

In Spain, verduras is the more natural everyday word for vegetables in food and cooking contexts.

Vegetales exists, but it can sound more general, technical, or scientific depending on context.

So in a kitchen instruction, verduras is the most natural choice.

Here, sobre means on or on top of a surface.

So sobre la encimera means the vegetables should be placed on the countertop/worktop.

It fits well because an encimera is a flat surface. In this kind of sentence, sobre sounds very natural.

Grammatically, yes, but it sounds awkward and a bit redundant here.

• sobre la encimera = natural and concise
• encima de la encimera = possible, but heavier and less idiomatic in this instruction

Also, encima de is very common when emphasizing physical position, but in a simple kitchen instruction, sobre is usually better.

In Spain, encimera usually means the kitchen countertop or worktop.

This is the surface where you prepare food.

A learner might know counter from English, but in Spain encimera is the normal household word for this.

Yes, you often can.

Both luego and después can mean then / afterwards in a sequence of actions.

In instructions, luego is very natural:

• Deja las verduras... y luego corta el pan.

You could also hear:

• Deja las verduras... y después corta el pan.

Both work, though luego feels especially common in step-by-step directions.

Not exactly, although they can overlap.

• poner = to put, place
• dejar = to leave, set down, put somewhere and leave it there

In this sentence, deja suggests placing the vegetables on the counter and leaving them there before doing the next action.

If you said pon las verduras sobre la encimera, it would also be understandable, but deja has a slightly better feel for this situation.

Because this sentence is speaking directly to one person.

Spanish uses commands when giving direct instructions:

• Deja...
• Corta...

But recipes and manuals often use other styles, such as infinitives or impersonal structures:

• Dejar las verduras sobre la encimera y luego cortar el pan
• Se dejan las verduras sobre la encimera y luego se corta el pan

So the sentence you have is more like someone telling another person what to do.

Negative tú commands use the present subjunctive, not the affirmative command form.

So:

• No dejes las verduras sobre la encimera.
• No cortes el pan.

Notice the change:

• deja → no dejes
• corta → no cortes

That is a very important pattern in Spanish commands.

With an affirmative command, object pronouns attach to the end of the verb:

• Déjalas sobre la encimera...

Here, las replaces las verduras.

Notice that an accent is added in déjalas to keep the stress in the right place.

So you could say:

• Déjalas sobre la encimera y luego corta el pan.

That means the same thing, but avoids repeating las verduras.