Efter maden tørrer jeg komfuret af med en ren klud.

Because Danish follows the V2 rule in main clauses: the finite verb must come in the second position.

So the sentence is structured like this:

• Efter maden = first element
• tørrer = finite verb in second position
• jeg = subject

That is why Danish says:

• Efter maden tørrer jeg komfuret af ...

and not:

• Efter maden jeg tørrer ...

This is very common in Danish whenever you begin with a time phrase, place phrase, or other adverbial:

• I dag arbejder jeg hjemme.
• Om morgenen drikker han kaffe.

Mad means food, but maden is the definite form, meaning the food.

In this sentence, Efter maden usually means after the meal or after eating. Danish often uses maden where English would naturally say the meal.

So:

• mad = food
• maden = the food / the meal

This is very idiomatic Danish.

Literally, it is after the food, but in natural English it usually means:

• after the meal
• after eating
• after dinner/lunch, depending on context

So even though mad often translates as food, in real Danish Efter maden often refers to the whole meal situation, not just the food itself.

The verb here is tørre af, which means something like:

• wipe off
• wipe down
• dry off

In Danish, many verbs are made of a main verb plus a particle such as af, op, ud, på, etc.

Here:

• tørrer = wipes/dries
• af = off/down, completing the meaning

So tørrer komfuret af means wipes the stove/cooker down/off.

The af is not random; it belongs to the verb. Danish often places this particle later in the clause, especially after the object.

You could, but it would not mean exactly the same thing.

• tørre noget can mean dry something
• tørre noget af usually means wipe something off / wipe something down

So in a cleaning context, af is important because it gives the natural meaning of wiping a surface.

Because komfur is a neuter noun in Danish, so its definite singular form takes -et.

Forms:

• et komfur = a stove / a cooker
• komfuret = the stove / the cooker

Compare that with a common-gender noun:

• en stol = a chair
• stolen = the chair

So -en and -et depend on the noun’s gender.

Usually komfur means a cooker or stove: the kitchen appliance used for cooking.

It is not exactly the same as oven in every context. Danish also has:

• ovn = oven
• komfur = cooker/stove unit

In everyday use, translations can vary depending on the kind of appliance being discussed.

Because klud is a common-gender noun, not a neuter noun.

So:

• en klud = a cloth
• en ren klud = a clean cloth

The adjective ren agrees with the noun:

• common gender singular: ren
• neuter singular: rent
• plural/definite: rene

Examples:

• en ren klud
• et rent glas
• rene hænder

It tells you how the action is done — in other words, it gives the instrument used.

So:

• med = with
• en ren klud = a clean cloth

This part answers the question With what?

• Jeg tørrer komfuret af med en ren klud. = I wipe the cooker down with a clean cloth.

Yes. Tørrer is the present tense of tørre.

Forms:

• at tørre = to wipe / to dry
• tørrer = wipe(s) / am wiping / is wiping, depending on context

In Danish, the present tense is often used where English might use either:

• I wipe the cooker down after the meal
• I’m wiping the cooker down after the meal

The exact English tense depends on context.

A rough guide is something like TUH-rer, but the vowel ø does not exist in standard English, so you have to learn it by listening.

A few points:

• ø is a rounded front vowel
• rr in Danish does not sound like a strong English r
• the final -er is often pronounced quite lightly

So it is better to hear native audio than rely on an English spelling approximation.

Yes. Danish allows some flexibility, but the word order changes because of the V2 rule.

For example:

• Efter maden tørrer jeg komfuret af med en ren klud.
• Jeg tørrer komfuret af med en ren klud efter maden.

Both are possible. The first version puts more focus on the time phrase Efter maden.

It can be either, depending on context.

Most naturally, it sounds like a habitual action:

• After the meal, I wipe the cooker down with a clean cloth.

But Danish present tense can also describe something happening in the current situation if the context supports that.

So without extra context, many learners should understand it as a normal routine or general statement.