Learn Spanish (Latin America): El jamón está en la mesa.

To talk about where something is located, Spanish always uses the verb estar, never ser. This rule applies no matter if the location is temporary (like ham on a table) or permanent (like a city in a country).

Doesn't en usually mean "in"? Why does the translation say "on"?

The Spanish word en is a great multi-purpose word! It can mean "in", "on", or "at" depending on the situation. Because a ham rests on top of a table, "on" is the best translation for this sentence.

Why is there an accent mark on está?

The accent mark on está shows that you should put the spoken stress on the last syllable. It also has a very important second job: it stops you from confusing está (is) with esta (this).

How do I know to use el for jamón and la for mesa?

Spanish nouns have a fixed gender. Jamón is masculine, and most words that end in -ón are masculine. Mesa is feminine, and most words that end in -a are feminine. Because of this, they use the matching words for "the": el and la.