După prânz, Ana spală tigaia, iar eu șterg cuțitul și masa.

Because după prânz is a general time expression meaning after lunch. In Romanian, nouns in time expressions like this are often left without the definite article when they are meant in a general sense.

• după prânz = after lunch
• după prânzul de duminică = after the Sunday lunch

So in this sentence, prânz is not referring to one specially identified lunch; it is just the normal meal/time of day.

Romanian usually puts the definite article at the end of the noun, not as a separate word before it.

Here are the forms:

• tigaie = a frying pan
  tigaia = the frying pan
• cuțit = a knife
  cuțitul = the knife
• masă = a table
  masa = the table

So tigaia, cuțitul, and masa are all definite nouns.

Iar often connects two clauses with a slight sense of contrast or change of subject. It can mean something like:

• and
• while
• whereas

In this sentence, it works well because the subject changes:

• Ana spală tigaia
• iar eu șterg cuțitul și masa

So the meaning is roughly Ana washes the frying pan, and/while I wipe the knife and the table.

If you used și, it would still mean and, but iar sounds more natural when comparing or balancing what two different people are doing.

That is true: Romanian often leaves out subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows the person.

For example, șterg already means I wipe.

But eu is included here for emphasis or contrast:

• Ana does one action
• eu do another

So iar eu highlights the contrast: and I..., while I...

Without eu, the sentence could still be understood, but the contrast would be weaker.

Because the verbs are conjugated for different persons.

• Ana spală = Ana washes
  This is 3rd person singular.
• eu șterg = I wipe
  This is 1st person singular.

The verbs come from:

• a spăla = to wash
• a șterge = to wipe

Relevant present-tense forms:

a spăla

• eu spăl
• tu speli
• el/ea spală

a șterge

• eu șterg
• tu ștergi
• el/ea șterge

So the sentence uses the correct form for each subject.

Șterg comes from a șterge, which can mean several things depending on context:

• to wipe
• to dry
• to clean off
• to erase

In this sentence, the most natural meaning is wipe or clean:

• șterg cuțitul = I wipe/dry the knife
• șterg masa = I wipe the table

So English might translate it as I wipe the knife and the table, or sometimes I dry the knife and wipe the table, depending on the situation.

Because pe is usually used before specific direct objects that are people, or sometimes animals/personified beings.

For example:

• O văd pe Ana. = I see Ana.

But with ordinary inanimate objects, Romanian normally does not use pe:

• șterg cuțitul
• șterg masa

So this sentence is completely normal without pe.

Here it means the table.

Romanian masă can mean both:

• table
• meal

Context tells you which one is meant.

In this sentence, the verb a șterge makes the meaning clear:

• șterg masa = I wipe the table

You do not normally wipe a meal, so masa here must mean the table.

Not completely. Romanian word order is more flexible than English word order.

The sentence begins with the time expression:

• După prânz, ...

That is very natural, and it emphasizes when the actions happen.

The core pattern is still basically subject + verb + object:

• Ana spală tigaia
• eu șterg cuțitul și masa

You could move some parts around in Romanian, but the given order is very normal and natural for everyday speech.

The comma after După prânz separates the introductory time phrase from the main clause. This is common and helps readability.

The comma before iar is also normal because iar links two separate clauses:

• Ana spală tigaia
• iar eu șterg cuțitul și masa

So the commas help show the structure of the sentence clearly.