Posle večere perem ruke i lice.

Because posle means after and it requires the genitive case.

• Base form: večera = dinner / supper
• After posle: posle večere = after dinner

So this is a very common Serbian pattern:

• posle škole = after school
• posle posla = after work
• posle ručka = after lunch

They are in the accusative case because they are the direct objects of perem (I wash).

• perem šta? = I wash what?
• ruke i lice = hands and face

A useful detail:

• ruke is the accusative plural form of ruka (hand)
• lice is neuter singular, and its nominative and accusative forms are the same

So:

• ruka → ruke
• lice → lice

Perem is the 1st person singular present tense form of the verb prati (to wash).

Conjugation of prati in the present tense:

• ja perem = I wash
• ti pereš = you wash
• on/ona/ono pere = he/she/it washes
• mi peremo = we wash
• vi perete = you wash
• oni/one/ona peru = they wash

So perem tells you the subject is I, even though ja is not written.

Because Serbian usually drops subject pronouns when they are not needed.

The verb form already shows who is doing the action:

• perem already means I wash

So:

• Posle večere perem ruke i lice.
• Ja posle večere perem ruke i lice.

Both are correct, but the version without ja is more natural unless you want emphasis, contrast, or clarification.

For example:

• Ja perem ruke, a on ne pere.
  I wash my hands, but he doesn’t.

Here ja is included for emphasis.

Yes. In Serbian, possession with body parts is often understood from context, so you usually do not need to say my.

So:

• perem ruke naturally means I wash my hands
• perem lice naturally means I wash my face

If you really want to emphasize possession, Serbian can use a possessive adjective:

• perem svoje ruke = I wash my own hands

But in normal everyday speech, that would usually sound unnecessary.

Because perem se means I wash myself in a general sense, while perem ruke i lice specifically names the body parts being washed.

Compare:

• Perem se. = I am washing myself.
• Perem ruke. = I am washing my hands.
• Perem lice. = I am washing my face.

So when Serbian explicitly mentions the body parts, the reflexive se is usually not needed.

Yes. Lice is a standard Serbian word meaning face.

In this sentence, it clearly means the physical face:

• perem lice = I wash my face

A learner should also know that lice can have other meanings in different contexts, such as person in legal or formal language, but here it simply means face.

In this sentence, it most naturally means a habitual action:

• Posle večere perem ruke i lice. = After dinner, I wash my hands and face.

So the sense is usually I do this regularly / as a routine.

Serbian present tense can also describe something happening right now, but with posle večere the sentence sounds most like a routine or usual action.

Yes. Serbian word order is fairly flexible.

The neutral order here is:

• Posle večere perem ruke i lice.

But you could also say:

• Perem ruke i lice posle večere.
• Ruke i lice perem posle večere.

These all mean basically the same thing, but the emphasis changes slightly.

• Starting with Posle večere highlights the time
• Starting with Perem is more neutral in conversation
• Starting with Ruke i lice puts extra focus on what is being washed

No. Another common word is nakon.

So you can say:

• Posle večere perem ruke i lice.
• Nakon večere perem ruke i lice.

Both mean After dinner, I wash my hands and face.

In everyday speech, posle is often more common and conversational.

Because Serbian does not have articles.

So Serbian simply says:

• posle večere = after dinner
• perem ruke i lice = I wash hands and face

In natural English, you add articles or possessives as needed:

• After dinner, I wash my hands and face.

When translating from Serbian, you often have to supply the, a, or my in English even though there is no separate word for them in Serbian.

It can correspond to either dinner or supper, depending on the speaker and context.

So:

• posle večere can mean after dinner
• or after supper

In many learning materials, dinner is the most common translation, but real-life usage depends on how the person names their meals.

I means and.

So:

• ruke i lice = hands and face

It simply joins the two direct objects.

You will see i constantly in Serbian:

• mama i tata = mom and dad
• hleb i sir = bread and cheese
• pišem i čitam = I write and read