Ek vee die tafel af met 'n skoon handdoek.

Because the full verb is afvee, a separable verb.

In a normal main clause, Afrikaans often splits this kind of verb:

• Ek vee die tafel af.

But in forms like the infinitive or past participle, it is usually written together:

• om die tafel af te vee
• Ek het die tafel afgevee.

So vee ... af is not two unrelated words here; it is the verb afvee being split by normal sentence structure.

Afrikaans verbs usually do not change for person in the present tense.

So you get:

• Ek vee
• Jy vee
• Hy/Sy vee
• Ons vee
• Hulle vee

That is much simpler than English, where you have I wipe but he wipes.

That is the normal pattern with a separable verb in a main clause.

A very common structure is:

Subject + finite verb + object + particle + other information

So:

• Ek = subject
• vee = finite verb
• die tafel = object
• af = verb particle
• met 'n skoon handdoek = extra phrase

This is why you do not say Ek afvee die tafel in an ordinary present-tense statement.

Yes. Here die is the definite article, so it means the.

A few useful points:

• Afrikaans uses die for singular and plural
• It does not change for grammatical gender
• It is pronounced roughly like dee, not like the English verb die

So:

• die tafel = the table
• die tafels = the tables

'n is the Afrikaans indefinite article, meaning a or an.

Important things to know:

• It is written with an apostrophe: 'n
• It is normally written in lowercase, even at the start of a sentence
• It is usually pronounced as a weak uh sound, not like the letter name en

So:

• 'n skoon handdoek = a clean towel

At the beginning of a sentence, the next word is capitalized, not 'n:

• 'n Skoon handdoek lê op die tafel.

Because met is the normal preposition for with, including when you mean the tool or instrument used to do something.

So:

• met 'n skoon handdoek = with a clean towel

This is very similar to English:

• I wipe the table with a clean towel.

Because adjectives normally come before the noun in Afrikaans when they directly describe it.

So:

• 'n skoon handdoek = a clean towel

Compare:

• Die handdoek is skoon. = The towel is clean.
• 'n skoon handdoek = a clean towel

Just like in English, the adjective can appear:

• before the noun: a clean towel
• or after a linking verb: the towel is clean

In this phrase, skoon stays skoon, which is the normal form you will commonly see here.

Afrikaans adjective forms can be a bit tricky, because:

• some adjectives take an -e in front of a noun
• some do not
• the pattern is not always obvious to beginners

So for this sentence, the safest thing is simply to learn:

• 'n skoon handdoek

In other words, skoon here is not missing anything.

It can mean either, depending on context.

The simple present in Afrikaans often covers both:

• a general action: I wipe the table
• an action happening now: I am wiping the table

If you want to emphasize that something is happening right now, Afrikaans can use a longer form such as:

• Ek is besig om die tafel met 'n skoon handdoek af te vee.

But in ordinary speech, the simple present is very common.

Yes, but the given version is a very natural, neutral word order.

Ek vee die tafel af met 'n skoon handdoek sounds straightforward and standard.

Afrikaans does allow some movement of parts of the sentence for emphasis, but:

• the separable verb pattern still matters
• af still belongs to vee
• unusual word order can sound marked or less beginner-friendly

So this sentence is a good model to learn first.

Yes. Handdoek is the ordinary word for towel.

It is a compound word:

• hand = hand
• doek = cloth

But you should treat handdoek as the standard everyday word for towel, not just as a literal hand-cloth.