Learn Spanish (Latin America): Apúrate, que la sopa ya está en la mesa. - Hurry up, because the soup is already on the table.

In spoken Spanish, que is frequently used as a colloquial shortcut for porque (because) when explaining the reason for a command, request, or suggestion. Since the first part of the sentence is the command Apúrate, using que to justify it sounds very natural and conversational.

Why is está in the indicative mood rather than the subjunctive?

When que is used to mean "because," it simply states a fact that justifies the preceding command. Since the soup being on the table is a declared reality, you use the indicative mood está. If the que were expressing a desire or an indirect command, it would trigger the subjunctive.

Why does Apúrate have a written accent mark?

The verb is the reflexive apurarse (to hurry). The affirmative informal command is apura. When you attach the pronoun te to the end to make Apúrate, the word gains an extra syllable. You must add a written accent mark over the u to keep the spoken stress on the original syllable.

Could I just say Apura instead of Apúrate?