Πρώτα ξεσκονίζω τα ράφια και μετά περνάω το πάτωμα με την ηλεκτρική σκούπα.

First I dust the shelves and then I do the floor with the vacuum cleaner.

Breakdown of Πρώτα ξεσκονίζω τα ράφια και μετά περνάω το πάτωμα με την ηλεκτρική σκούπα.

• και: and
• με: with
• μετά: then
• πρώτα: first

Questions & Answers about Πρώτα ξεσκονίζω τα ράφια και μετά περνάω το πάτωμα με την ηλεκτρική σκούπα.

Why isn’t εγώ included for I?

In Greek, the subject pronoun is often omitted because the verb ending already shows who is doing the action.

Here, ξεσκονίζω and περνάω both end in -ω, which tells you the subject is I.

So Greek normally says: Πρώτα ξεσκονίζω... not Πρώτα εγώ ξεσκονίζω...

You would add εγώ only for emphasis or contrast, like: Εγώ ξεσκονίζω, εσύ σφουγγαρίζεις. = I dust, you mop.

What do πρώτα and μετά mean grammatically here?

They are adverbs of sequence.

• πρώτα = first
• μετά = then / afterwards

They tell you the order of the actions: first one action, then the next one.

A useful detail: μετά can also be a preposition meaning after, but not here.

For example:

• μετά το φαγητό = after the meal
• μετά, φεύγω = afterwards, I leave

In your sentence, μετά is the adverb then / afterwards.

Why does the sentence say και μετά instead of just μετά?