Nach dem Essen wische ich den Tisch mit dem Tuch ab.

the; (masculine or neuter, dative)

Breakdown of Nach dem Essen wische ich den Tisch mit dem Tuch ab.

• ich: I
• mit: with
• der Tisch: the table

Questions & Answers about Nach dem Essen wische ich den Tisch mit dem Tuch ab.

Why is Essen capitalized?

Because Essen is being used as a noun here, not as the verb essen.

In German, verbs can often be turned into nouns. This is happening in nach dem Essen, which means something like:

• after the meal
• after eating

Since all nouns are capitalized in German, it becomes Essen with a capital E.

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Why is it nach dem Essen and not nach das Essen?

Because the preposition nach takes the dative case.

So:

• nominative: das Essen
• dative: dem Essen

That is why you get:

• nach dem Essen = after the meal / after eating

This is something you often just have to learn together with the preposition:

• nach + dative
• mit + dative

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What exactly does nach dem Essen mean?

It means after the meal or after eating.

In this sentence, Essen can be understood in a fairly natural way as either:

• the act of eating
• the meal

So Nach dem Essen is a very common German expression meaning:

• after lunch/dinner/the meal
• once eating is finished

It functions as a time expression at the beginning of the sentence.

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