Wanneer die kinders klaar geëet het, was ek die skottelgoed en sy droog dit af.

Because wanneer introduces a subordinate clause. In Afrikaans, subordinate clauses usually send the finite verb to the end.

So:

• die kinders het klaar geëet = the children have finished eating
• Wanneer die kinders klaar geëet het = when the children have finished eating

That final het is very normal in subordinate clauses.

A useful pattern is:

• Main clause: subject + verb + ...
• Subordinate clause: conjunction + subject + ... + verb

So after words like wanneer, omdat, as, dat, and terwyl, you should expect the verb later in the clause, often at the end.

Klaar means finished or done, and geëet is the past participle of eet (to eat).

So klaar geëet het literally means something like:

• have eaten finished
• more naturally: have finished eating

Afrikaans often uses klaar with another verb to show that an action has been completed:

• Ek het klaar gewerk. = I have finished working.
• Sy het klaar gelees. = She has finished reading.

So here, die kinders klaar geëet het means the children are done with eating.

This is because Afrikaans main clauses follow the verb-second rule.

When a sentence starts with something other than the subject, the verb must still stay in the second position. Here, the whole Wanneer... clause comes first, so the verb comes next:

• Wanneer die kinders klaar geëet het, was ek die skottelgoed...

If you started with the subject instead, you would get:

• Ek was die skottelgoed wanneer die kinders klaar geëet het.

Both are grammatical, but when the wanneer clause is first, inversion happens:

• ... was ek ... not
• ... ek was ...

No. In this sentence, was is the verb to wash, not the past tense of wees (to be).

That can confuse learners, because Afrikaans was can mean two different things depending on context:

• Ek was moeg. = I was tired.
  Here was is from wees.
• Ek was die skottelgoed. = I wash the dishes.
  Here was is the verb wash.

So in your sentence, was ek die skottelgoed means I wash the dishes.

Because afdroog is a separable verb in Afrikaans.

The full verb is:

• afdroog = to dry off / dry

But in a normal main clause, the first part stays with the verb stem and the particle af moves to the end:

• Sy droog dit af. = She dries it.

Compare:

• Ek maak die deur oop. = I open the door.
  Full verb: oopmaak
• Hy trek sy skoene aan. = He puts on his shoes.
  Full verb: aantrek

So droog dit af is the expected word order in a main clause.

Dit is the object pronoun it. It refers back to die skottelgoed.

So the sentence first says:

• ek was die skottelgoed = I wash the dishes

Then instead of repeating die skottelgoed, Afrikaans uses dit:

• sy droog dit af = she dries it

That is very natural. English often does the same:

• I wash the dishes and she dries them
• Afrikaans can use dit here to refer to the dishwashing as a single set or item of dishes in context

Yes, sy can be confusing because it can mean different things depending on how it is used.

In this sentence, sy means she because it is a subject pronoun:

• sy droog dit af = she dries it

But sy can also mean his as a possessive:

• sy boek = his book

So learners need to look at the sentence structure:

• before a noun: often his
• as the subject of a verb: often she

Here it is clearly she.

Because die is the normal definite article in Afrikaans for both singular and plural nouns.

Unlike English, Afrikaans does not change the article for number or gender:

• die kind = the child
• die kinders = the children
• die skottelgoed = the dishes / the dishware

So die always means the here.

This is simpler than in some other languages because Afrikaans articles do not change for masculine, feminine, neuter, or case.

It can suggest either, depending on context.

• If you are talking about one specific occasion, wanneer can mean when.
• If you are describing a repeated routine, it can feel more like whenever.

Because the rest of the sentence is in the present tense:

• was ek
• sy droog dit af

it often sounds like a habitual or general action:

• Whenever the children have finished eating, I wash the dishes and she dries them.

But context decides the best translation.

Because Afrikaans verbs usually have very little conjugation.

In most cases, the verb form stays the same no matter who the subject is:

• ek was
• jy was
• hy was
• ons was

and:

• ek droog
• sy droog
• hulle droog

This is much simpler than English, which still has forms like I wash but she washes.

One important common exception is the verb wees (to be), which has forms like:

• ek is
• jy is
• ons is

But for ordinary verbs like was, droog, and eet, Afrikaans is usually very regular.

The ë shows that the vowels are pronounced in separate syllables.

So geëet is not pronounced as one smooth vowel group. It is more like:

• ge-eet

The two dots tell you not to merge the vowels together.

This spelling often appears when ge- is added to a verb and the result would otherwise be hard to read or pronounce correctly.

So the diaeresis in geëet is mainly a pronunciation and spelling guide.

It behaves like a collective noun. Even though it refers to dishes in general, Afrikaans often treats skottelgoed as a single mass or collection.

So:

• die skottelgoed = the dishes / the dishware / the washing-up

That is why using dit afterward is natural:

• Ek was die skottelgoed en sy droog dit af.

English may prefer them because dishes is plural, but Afrikaans often treats skottelgoed more like a collective thing.

Yes. Afrikaans allows different word orders depending on what you want to emphasize.

For example, you could say:

• Ek was die skottelgoed en sy droog dit af wanneer die kinders klaar geëet het.

That keeps the main clause first.

But if you start with the time clause:

• Wanneer die kinders klaar geëet het, was ek die skottelgoed en sy droog dit af.

then the verb must come before the subject in the main clause: was ek.

So both are possible, but the word order changes according to normal Afrikaans clause rules.