אחרי הארוחה תנגבי את השולחן, בבקשה.

table

Breakdown of אחרי הארוחה תנגבי את השולחן, בבקשה.

• את: direct object marker
• אחרי: after
• בבקשה: please

Questions & Answers about אחרי הארוחה תנגבי את השולחן, בבקשה.

Why does the sentence start with אחרי הארוחה?

אחרי הארוחה means after the meal.

• אחרי = after
• הארוחה = the meal

Putting this time phrase first sets the scene right away: After the meal, please wipe the table.

Hebrew often puts time expressions at the beginning of the sentence when they are important to the context.

Why is הארוחה definite, with ה־?

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

So:

• ארוחה = a meal / meal
• הארוחה = the meal

In this sentence, it refers to a specific meal that both speaker and listener know about, probably the meal they have just finished or are about to finish.

Why is תנגבי in the future tense if this is a request or command?