אחר כך אני מנגב את המדף, כי יש עליו הרבה אבק מהשבוע שעבר.

אחר כך means after that / afterwards / then. It is a very common way to show sequence in Hebrew.

So in this sentence, it tells you that this action happens later, after some previous action.

You can think of it as:

• אחר = after
• כך = so / this way

But together, אחר כך is just a fixed expression meaning afterwards.

מנגב is the present-tense masculine singular form of the verb.

Hebrew present tense agrees with the subject’s gender and number, not with the tense meaning I. Since the speaker is presumably masculine here, the sentence uses:

• אני מנגב = I wipe / I am wiping

If the speaker were female, it would be:

• אני מנגבת

Other forms:

• אתה מנגב = you (masc. sg.) wipe
• את מנגבת = you (fem. sg.) wipe
• הוא מנגב = he wipes
• היא מנגבת = she wipes

So אני does not force a special I-form in the present tense. Hebrew uses the regular gender/number form.

It can mean both, depending on context.

The root is related to wiping/drying. So:

• לנגב את השולחן = to wipe the table
• לנגב ידיים = to dry one’s hands

In your sentence, since the object is the shelf and the reason is dust, the natural meaning is wipe:

• אני מנגב את המדף = I wipe the shelf

So context tells you which English word fits best.

In Hebrew, את marks a definite direct object.

Here:

• מנגב = wipe
• את המדף = the shelf

Because המדף means the shelf and is definite, Hebrew uses את before it.

Compare:

• אני מנגב מדף = I wipe a shelf
• אני מנגב את המדף = I wipe the shelf

Important: this את is usually not translated into English. It is a grammar marker, not a separate meaning word here.

The prefix ה־ is the Hebrew definite article, meaning the.

So:

• מדף = a shelf
• המדף = the shelf

Since the sentence is talking about a specific shelf, Hebrew uses המדף.

Yes, often it can.

Hebrew frequently drops subject pronouns when they are understood from the verb form or from context. So:

• אני מנגב את המדף
  and
• מנגב את המדף

can both be natural, depending on context.

However, because Hebrew present tense forms do not show person as clearly as past and future do, speakers often include אני for clarity.

So in this sentence, אני is perfectly normal and natural.

כי means because in this sentence.

It introduces the reason:

• אני מנגב את המדף = I wipe the shelf
• כי יש עליו הרבה אבק = because there is a lot of dust on it

So כי is a very common way to connect a statement with its explanation.

It can also mean other things in other contexts, but for learners, because is the most important meaning here.

Literally, it is something like:

• יש = there is / there exists
• עליו = on it / on him

So:

• יש עליו הרבה אבק = there is a lot of dust on it

In smoother English, we say:

• It has a lot of dust on it or
• There is a lot of dust on it

Hebrew often uses יש in places where English might use there is or have.

עליו is the preposition על (on) plus a pronoun suffix.

• על = on
• עליו = on him / on it

Here it refers to המדף (the shelf), which is a masculine noun, so Hebrew uses the masculine suffix:

• עליו = on it

Other similar forms:

• עליה = on her / on it (feminine noun)
• עליהם = on them (masc. / mixed)
• עליהן = on them (fem.)

So the sentence literally says:

• because there is on-it a lot of dust

That is normal Hebrew structure.

Because once the shelf has already been mentioned, Hebrew can use a pronoun suffix instead of repeating the noun.

So instead of saying:

• כי יש על המדף הרבה אבק

the sentence says:

• כי יש עליו הרבה אבק

Both are possible, but עליו sounds more natural because it avoids repetition:

• I wipe the shelf, because there is a lot of dust on it

This is similar to English using it instead of repeating the shelf.

Because אבק (dust) is usually treated as an uncountable mass noun, like water or sand in English.

So Hebrew normally says:

• הרבה אבק = a lot of dust

הרבה works with both countable and uncountable nouns in everyday Hebrew.

Examples:

• הרבה ספרים = many/a lot of books
• הרבה מים = a lot of water
• הרבה אבק = a lot of dust

Using רבים here would not be natural.

It means from last week.

Breakdown:

• מ־ = from
• השבוע = the week
• שעבר = that passed / last

So:

• מהשבוע שעבר = from last week

In context, the idea is:

• the dust has been there since last week
• or it is dust left over from last week

This is a very natural Hebrew way to express that something dates back to last week.

Because שבוע (week) is a masculine noun.

The adjective/participle עבר (passed / last) agrees with שבוע, so it must also be masculine:

• השבוע שעבר = last week

If the noun were feminine, you would use שעברה.

For example:

• השנה שעברה = last year

So the form changes according to the gender of the noun it describes.

Here ש־ is a relative marker, roughly like that / which.

So:

• השבוע שעבר is literally something like the week that passed

That is how Hebrew says last week.

Similarly:

• החודש שעבר = last month
• השנה שעברה = last year

So this is a very common Hebrew pattern:

• the [time period] that passed = last [time period]

Hebrew often prefers a concrete structure like:

• there is a lot of dust on it

instead of using an adjective like dusty.

Hebrew certainly can describe things with adjectives, but with dust, dirt, clutter, and similar things, it is very common to say:

• יש עליו אבק = there is dust on it
• יש פה לכלוך = there is dirt here

So this Hebrew phrasing is very natural, even if English might choose a shorter adjective sometimes.

This order is the most natural and standard:

• כי יש עליו הרבה אבק

Breakdown:

• כי = because
• יש = there is
• עליו = on it
• הרבה אבק = a lot of dust

Hebrew word order is somewhat flexible, but this version sounds neutral and natural. Moving things around is possible, but usually changes emphasis or sounds less standard for a learner.

So this is a good model to follow.

Only the present-tense verb would change:

• אחר כך אני מנגבת את המדף, כי יש עליו הרבה אבק מהשבוע שעבר.

Everything else stays the same.

That is because:

• אני מנגב = I wipe, said by a male speaker
• אני מנגבת = I wipe, said by a female speaker

The noun המדף is still masculine, and עליו still refers to the shelf, so those do not change.

It is pronounced approximately ha-madaf.

Breakdown:

• ה־ = ha
• מדף = madaf

So:

• המדף = ha-madaf

And the whole phrase:

• את המדף = et ha-madaf

This can be useful because beginners sometimes expect the stress or vowels to work differently, especially in unpointed Hebrew text.

Sometimes yes, but the meaning changes slightly.

• מנגב את המדף = wipe the shelf
• מנקה את המדף = clean the shelf

מנגב focuses more on the wiping action itself.
מנקה is broader and means cleaning in general.

Because the reason given is dust, both could make sense in real life, but מנגב specifically matches the idea of wiping dust off a surface.

So the original sentence is more precise.