После супа дети долго ели крекеры, а я доела свой тёплый тост.

After the soup, the children ate crackers for a long time, and I finished my warm toast.

Breakdown of После супа дети долго ели крекеры, а я доела свой тёплый тост.

• я: I
• есть: to eat
• после: after
• свой: my

Questions & Answers about После супа дети долго ели крекеры, а я доела свой тёплый тост.

Why is it после супа, not после суп?

Because после requires the genitive case.

• суп = nominative form
• супа = genitive singular

So:

• после супа = after the soup / after soup

This is a very common pattern in Russian:

• после урока = after the lesson
• после работы = after work
• после дождя = after the rain

So the important thing to remember is: после + genitive.

Why is дети used here? Is that just the normal plural?

Yes. Дети is the irregular plural of ребёнок (child) in the meaning children.

So:

• ребёнок = child
• дети = children

In this sentence, дети is the subject, so it is in the nominative plural.

Because the subject is plural, the verb also becomes plural:

• дети ели = the children were eating / ate

Why is it ели and not some other past-tense form?