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Van a preparar una sopa caliente.

Van a preparar una sopa caliente.
They are going to prepare a hot soup.
From Lesson 68:Meals and Proteins·Spanish (Spain)

Breakdown of Van a preparar una sopa caliente.

un
a, an, some
caliente
hot
ir
to go
a
to
preparar
to prepare
la sopa
the soup

Questions & Answers about Van a preparar una sopa caliente.

How do we know this means going to prepare?
This sentence uses a very common structure for the near future: the verb ir (to go) + a + an infinitive verb. Here, van (they go) + a + preparar (to prepare) translates directly to they are going to prepare.
Where is the word for they in this sentence?
In Spanish, you usually do not need to say the pronoun (like ellos or ellas for they) because the verb form already tells you who is doing the action. The verb van specifically means they go (or you all go), so the subject they is built right into the word.
Does sopa mean soap?
No, sopa is a classic false friend for English speakers! It looks like soap, but it actually means soup. If you want to say soap in Spanish, the word is jabón.
Why is it sopa caliente and not caliente sopa?
In English, we put the descriptive word (adjective) before the noun, like hot soup. In Spanish, the order is usually reversed. The noun sopa comes first, followed by the adjective caliente that describes it.
Since sopa is feminine, should caliente change to end in an a?
Not all adjectives change their ending to match masculine or feminine nouns. Adjectives that end in -e, like caliente or grande, stay exactly the same for both masculine and feminine words. They only change if the noun is plural, which would make it calientes.

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