Når jeg er færdig med opvasken, sætter jeg tallerkenerne på plads.

Når means when in the sense of something that happens regularly, generally, or in the future.

So in this sentence, Når jeg er færdig med opvasken... means something like When I’m done with the dishes...

A very common contrast is:

• når = when for repeated events or future situations
• da = when for a specific event in the past

For example:

• Når jeg kommer hjem, laver jeg kaffe.
  = When I get home, I make coffee / I’ll make coffee.
• Da jeg kom hjem, lavede jeg kaffe.
  = When I got home, I made coffee.

So når is the correct choice here.

This is because Danish uses verb-second word order in main clauses.

When the sentence begins with something other than the subject — here, the whole time clause Når jeg er færdig med opvasken — the finite verb in the main clause comes next.

So:

• Når jeg er færdig med opvasken, sætter jeg tallerkenerne på plads.

The main clause is:

• sætter jeg tallerkenerne på plads

not:

• jeg sætter tallerkenerne på plads

If the sentence started directly with the subject, then you would say:

• Jeg sætter tallerkenerne på plads, når jeg er færdig med opvasken.

Both are correct, but the word order changes depending on what comes first.

Danish often uses the present tense to talk about the future, especially when the time is already clear from the context.

So:

• Når jeg er færdig med opvasken, sætter jeg tallerkenerne på plads.

can refer to something habitual or something that will happen next.

English often does something similar:

• When I’m done, I put the plates away.
• When I’m done, I’ll put the plates away.

Danish usually does not need a separate future form here. If needed, Danish can use vil, but in sentences like this, the present tense is very natural.

at være færdig med noget means to be finished with something or to be done with something.

So:

• jeg er færdig med opvasken
  = I am done with the dishes / the washing-up

This is a very common expression in Danish.

More examples:

• Jeg er færdig med arbejdet.
  = I’m finished with the work.
• Er du færdig med din mad?
  = Are you done with your food?

A learner should remember the full pattern:

• færdig med + noun
• færdig med at + verb

For example:

• Jeg er færdig med bogen.
• Jeg er færdig med at læse bogen.

Opvasken is the definite form of opvask.

• opvask = dishwashing / washing-up / dishes
• opvasken = the washing-up / the dishes

In this sentence, Danish is referring to a specific task: the dishes / the washing-up that the speaker is doing.

That is why the definite form sounds natural:

• færdig med opvasken

This is very common in Danish, where definite forms are often used in places where English may or may not use the.

Tallerkenerne means the plates.

It is built like this:

• tallerken = plate
• tallerkener = plates
• tallerkenerne = the plates

So it is:

• plural
• definite

Danish often adds definiteness to the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like the.

Compare:

• en tallerken = a plate
• tallerkenen = the plate
• tallerkener = plates
• tallerkenerne = the plates

Sætte often means put, set, or place. In this sentence, sætter ... på plads is a very natural way to say put ... away / put ... back in their proper place.

• sætter jeg tallerkenerne på plads
  = I put the plates away / back where they belong

You may also hear verbs like stille or lægge in other contexts, depending on the object and position:

• stille is often used for something standing upright
• lægge is often used for something lying down
• sætte can be broader and is very common in idiomatic expressions

Because på plads is a fixed expression meaning in place / back where it belongs, sætte på plads is especially natural here.

På plads literally means in place, but in everyday Danish it often means:

• back where something belongs
• tidied away
• properly arranged

So:

• sætte tallerkenerne på plads

means more than just physically placing plates somewhere. It usually means putting them away in their proper place, such as in the cupboard.

This is a common expression.

Other examples:

• Kan du sætte bøgerne på plads?
  = Can you put the books back in their place?
• Alt er på plads nu.
  = Everything is in place now.

Yes, in standard Danish spelling, a comma is normally used to separate the subordinate clause from the main clause here:

• Når jeg er færdig med opvasken, sætter jeg tallerkenerne på plads.

The part beginning with Når is a subordinate clause, and the comma marks the boundary before the main clause.

For learners, the comma is also helpful because it makes the word order easier to see:

• subordinate clause first
• then main clause with inversion: sætter jeg

Yes. You can also say:

• Jeg sætter tallerkenerne på plads, når jeg er færdig med opvasken.

This means the same thing.

The main difference is word order:

• If the sentence starts with Når jeg er færdig med opvasken, the main clause becomes sætter jeg ...
• If the sentence starts with Jeg, the normal order is Jeg sætter ...

So both are correct:

• Når jeg er færdig med opvasken, sætter jeg tallerkenerne på plads.
• Jeg sætter tallerkenerne på plads, når jeg er færdig med opvasken.

It can be understood as either, depending on context.

Because Danish uses the present tense here, the sentence may mean:

• a habit: Whenever I finish the dishes, I put the plates away
• a future action: When I’m done with the dishes, I’ll put the plates away

Without more context, both are possible.

This is very normal in Danish. Time expressions like når often tell you enough, so the present tense can cover both meanings.