Learn Spanish (Latin America): Tienes que probar esta carne. Te la preparo con pimienta. - You have to try this meat. I will prepare it for you with pepper.

te is the indirect object meaning 'for you', and la is the direct object meaning 'it'. When you use both together, the 'person' (indirect) always comes before the 'thing' (direct), and they both go right before the conjugated verb preparo.

Why is the word for 'it' la instead of lo?

la refers back to esta carne (this meat). Because carne is a feminine noun, we have to use the feminine pronoun la to say 'it'.

The translation says 'I will prepare', so why does the Spanish sentence use the present tense preparo?

In Spanish, you can often use the present tense to make an immediate offer or talk about the very near future. Saying Te la preparo is a natural and common way to say 'I will make it for you right now'.

I learned that tratar means 'to try'. Why does this sentence use probar?

probar is the specific verb used for tasting food or trying on clothes. You use tratar de when you are attempting an action, like trying to learn a language!

Why is it Tienes que instead of just Tienes?