It takes 16 tablespoons to make 1 cup.
So if your recipe calls for 1 cup of ingredients then you need 16 tablespoons to equal the 1 cup of ingredients.
Or if you need to measure one cup of ingredients then take a tablespoon and then scoop up 16 of those tablespoons and then fill a cup or your bowl with it.
As long as you scoop up 16 tablespoons then you'll have 1 cup of ingredients.
So the short answer is that there are 16 tablespoons in one cup.
Having measuring cups as well as plenty of different sized measuring spoons can help really good in the kitchen.