Antaŭ la tagmanĝo ŝi metas rizon sur la pladon, kaj poste ŝi alportas viandon.

Yes. Antaŭ can be used for both:

• time: before
• space: in front of

In this sentence, Antaŭ la tagmanĝo is a time expression, so it means before lunch.

Examples:

• Antaŭ la domo = in front of the house
• Antaŭ la tagmanĝo = before lunch

Here la makes the meal sound like a specific, understood event: the lunch / the lunchtime meal in this situation.

English often says just before lunch, without the, but Esperanto often uses la where English would not, especially when the speaker has a particular event in mind.

So Antaŭ la tagmanĝo is a natural way to say before lunch.

The -n ending is the accusative ending. It is used for the direct object of a verb.

In this sentence:

• ŝi metas rizon = she puts rice
  → rizon is what she puts
• ŝi alportas viandon = she brings meat
  → viandon is what she brings

So rizon and viandon are straightforward direct objects.

pladon is a little different, because it comes after sur. That -n is there because the sentence shows movement onto the plate, not just location. That is a very common Esperanto pattern.

This is an important Esperanto rule:

• sur la plato = on the plate, already there, location
• sur la pladon = onto the plate, movement toward that surface

With some prepositions, Esperanto uses -n to show direction or motion toward a place.

So:

• Ŝi metas rizon sur la pladon = She puts rice onto the plate.
• If the rice were already there, you might say La rizo estas sur la plato = The rice is on the plate.

Because a plate is usually thought of as a surface, not a container.

• sur = on / onto
• en = in / into

So sur la pladon means the rice is being placed onto the plate.

If you were talking about something going into a bowl, box, or room, en would be more likely.

Meti means to put, to place, or to set something somewhere.

So ŝi metas rizon sur la pladon means she is putting or placing rice onto the plate.

It is a very common verb for placing objects:

• meti libron sur la tablon = put a book on the table
• meti akvon en glason = put water into a glass

Porti means to carry or to wear, depending on context.

The prefix al- means to, toward. So:

• porti = carry
• alporti = bring, carry to someone/somewhere

So ŝi alportas viandon means she brings meat.

A helpful contrast:

• alporti = bring
• forporti = take away, carry off

The prefix often gives you the direction of the action.

It can often be left out if the meaning is clear, especially when the same subject continues:

• Antaŭ la tagmanĝo ŝi metas rizon sur la pladon, kaj poste alportas viandon.

That would still be understandable.

But repeating ŝi is very normal and often clearer:

• ..., kaj poste ŝi alportas viandon.

Since Esperanto verbs do not change for person the way English verbs sometimes do, keeping the pronoun can help the sentence feel clear and well-structured.

• kaj = and
• poste = afterward, then, later

Together, kaj poste means something like and then or and afterward.

It links the two actions and also shows their order:

1. she puts rice on the plate
2. afterward, she brings meat

You could sometimes use just poste, but kaj poste makes the connection between the two clauses especially smooth.

Esperanto word order is fairly flexible, because endings and prepositions do a lot of the grammatical work.

The given sentence is very natural:

• Antaŭ la tagmanĝo ŝi metas rizon sur la pladon, kaj poste ŝi alportas viandon.

But other orders are also possible, depending on emphasis. For example:

• Ŝi metas rizon sur la pladon antaŭ la tagmanĝo, kaj poste ŝi alportas viandon.

Starting with Antaŭ la tagmanĝo highlights the time frame first, which is a common and natural choice.

It is a compound word:

• tago = day
• manĝo = meal, eating

So tagmanĝo is literally something like day-meal, which means lunch.

Esperanto uses compounds a lot, and they are often very transparent once you know the parts.