Eftir kvöldmat þurrka ég diskana með viskustykki.

This is because Icelandic follows the V2 rule in main clauses: the finite verb usually comes in the second position.

In this sentence, Eftir kvöldmat comes first:

• Eftir kvöldmat = after dinner

So the verb must come next:

• þurrka = dry / wipe

And then the subject follows:

• ég = I

So:

• Eftir kvöldmat þurrka ég diskana með viskustykki.

If you started with the subject instead, you could say:

• Ég þurrka diskana með viskustykki eftir kvöldmat.

Both are grammatical, but when a time expression is moved to the front, Icelandic normally puts the verb before the subject.

The dictionary form is kvöldmatur = dinner / evening meal.

But after eftir, the noun is in the accusative case, and kvöldmatur changes form:

• nominative: kvöldmatur
• accusative: kvöldmat

So:

• eftir kvöldmat = after dinner

This is a very common thing in Icelandic: many masculine nouns lose the -ur ending in the accusative.

Here eftir takes the accusative.

That is why you get:

• eftir kvöldmat

A useful pattern to remember is:

• eftir + accusative often means after
• eftir + dative can have other meanings, especially in contexts like according to, following, or certain fixed expressions

In this sentence, the meaning is clearly temporal:

• after dinner

So the accusative is the expected case.

Diskana is the accusative plural definite form of diskur.

Breakdown:

• diskur = a plate / dish
• diskar = dishes
• diskana = the dishes

Why accusative? Because þurrka takes a direct object, and here the direct object is the dishes.

So:

• þurrka diskana = dry the dishes

The ending -ana tells you that the noun is:

• plural
• definite
• accusative

In Icelandic, the definite article is usually attached to the noun as a suffix, not written as a separate word.

So instead of:

• the dishes

Icelandic says:

• diskana

This is very normal in Icelandic:

• diskur = a dish
• diskurinn = the dish
• diskar = dishes
• diskarnir = the dishes
• diskana = the dishes (accusative plural)

So the idea of the is built into the ending.

Here með means with, and it takes the dative case.

So:

• viskustykki is in the dative here

For this particular noun, the form happens to look the same as the nominative/accusative singular:

• nominative: viskustykki
• accusative: viskustykki
• dative: viskustykki

So even though the form does not change visibly, the case is still dative because með requires it.

This is an important Icelandic pattern:

• með + dative = with something

In this sentence, þurrka means to dry or to wipe dry.

So:

• þurrka diskana = dry the dishes / wipe the dishes dry

Depending on context, þurrka can also mean:

• to wipe
• to dry something
• to make something dry

Here it does not mean that the dishes dry by themselves. It means the speaker is actively drying them, using a cloth.

Because Icelandic, like English in many similar expressions, often leaves out the article in general routine expressions.

So:

• eftir kvöldmat = after dinner

This is much like English:

• after dinner not usually
• after the dinner

If you were talking about one specific dinner in a special context, Icelandic could use a more specific form, but in ordinary everyday language eftir kvöldmat is exactly what you would expect.

Viskustykki means a dish towel, tea towel, or kitchen towel, depending on the variety of English and the context.

So:

• með viskustykki = with a dish towel / tea towel

It is the cloth you use in the kitchen to dry dishes.

It can mean plate in many contexts, but in everyday use it can also be used more generally in dish-washing contexts.

So diskana here is often best translated naturally as:

• the dishes

even though the singular diskur often corresponds closely to plate.

This is a good example of translation being a little broader than a one-word dictionary meaning.

Yes. That is a very reasonable translation.

The verb þurrka covers the idea of:

• drying
• wiping dry

So both of these are natural in English:

• After dinner, I dry the dishes with a dish towel.
• After dinner, I wipe the dishes with a dish towel.

If the goal is natural English, dry the dishes is probably the most common translation.

Yes, it is completely natural.

It has a very typical Icelandic structure:

1. a time expression first: Eftir kvöldmat
2. the finite verb second: þurrka
3. the subject: ég
4. the object: diskana
5. a prepositional phrase: með viskustykki

So it is a good example of both:

• everyday vocabulary
• normal Icelandic word order

Yes, you can.

That version starts with the subject:

• Ég = I

Then the word order is also normal:

• Ég þurrka diskana með viskustykki eftir kvöldmat.

The difference is mostly about emphasis or information flow:

• Eftir kvöldmat þurrka ég... emphasizes the time frame first
• Ég þurrka... eftir kvöldmat starts by emphasizing the subject

Both are correct.