Večeras spremam kuhinju i perem sudove koji su na stolu.

In Serbian, spremiti / spremati has a wider meaning than English prepare. It can mean:

• to prepare
• to put in order
• to tidy up
• to clean up

So in the context of a kitchen, spremam kuhinju usually means I’m tidying up / cleaning the kitchen, not preparing the kitchen.

This is very common in everyday Serbian:

• Spremam sobu. = I’m tidying my room.
• Spremam ručak. = I’m preparing lunch.

The object tells you which meaning is intended.

Večeras is an adverb meaning tonight / this evening. Since it is already an adverb of time, it does not need a preposition.

Compare:

• Večeras idem u grad. = I’m going into town tonight.
• Sutra radim. = I’m working tomorrow.
• Danas učim. = I’m studying today.

So večeras works like English tonight.

In Serbian, the present tense is often used for a planned or expected action in the near future, especially when there is a clear time word like večeras.

So:

• Večeras spremam kuhinju... literally looks like Tonight I tidy/am tidying the kitchen...
• but in natural English it may mean Tonight I’m going to tidy the kitchen...

This is especially common with imperfective verbs in everyday speech.

You could also use a future form:

• Večeras ću spremiti kuhinju i oprati sudove.

That sounds more explicitly future. The original sentence sounds a bit more like a plan or scheduled activity.

Spremam is:

• 1st person singular
• present tense
• from the verb spremati (imperfective)

So it means I tidy / I am tidying / I am going to tidy, depending on context.

The imperfective partner is often contrasted with the perfective verb:

• spremati = to be tidying, to tidy regularly, to work on tidying
• spremiti = to tidy up completely, to finish tidying

In this sentence, the imperfective form is natural because it presents the action as an activity, not just a completed result.

Because sudove is the direct object, and direct objects normally go in the accusative case.

The noun is:

• sudovi = nominative plural (dishes as the subject)
• sudove = accusative plural (dishes as the object)

So:

• Sudovi su na stolu. = The dishes are on the table.
• Perem sudove. = I’m washing the dishes.

Since the speaker is doing the washing to the dishes, Serbian uses the accusative form sudove.

Yes. In this context, sudovi means dishes, kitchenware, or tableware.

The singular sud can mean a vessel/container, and in household contexts the plural sudovi is very often used for dishes.

So:

• prati sudove = to wash the dishes

This is a standard everyday expression.

Because koji agrees with sudovi/sudove in gender and number, and sudovi is masculine plural.

Important detail: the case of koji is determined by its role inside the relative clause.

In:

• sudove koji su na stolu

the word koji refers to the dishes, but inside the clause koji su na stolu, it is the subject of su na stolu (are on the table). So it must be in the nominative plural masculine form:

• koji = masculine plural nominative

Not koje, because koje would be a different agreement pattern.

A useful comparison:

• sudovi koji su na stolu = the dishes that are on the table
• knjige koje su na stolu = the books that are on the table

Here knjige is feminine plural, so the pronoun becomes koje.

Because it describes which dishes the speaker is washing.

So:

• perem sudove = I’m washing dishes
• perem sudove koji su na stolu = I’m washing the dishes that are on the table

The clause koji su na stolu narrows down the meaning. It tells us these are not just any dishes, but specifically the ones on the table.

This is the normal Serbian way to place a relative clause: directly after the noun it describes.

Because na stolu expresses location, not movement.

With na, Serbian uses:

• accusative for movement onto something
• locative for being on something

So:

• Stavljam sudove na sto. = I’m putting the dishes onto the table.

  • movement
  • na sto = accusative

• Sudovi su na stolu. = The dishes are on the table.

  • location
  • na stolu = locative

In your sentence, the dishes are already there, so Serbian uses na stolu.

Because Serbian often leaves out subject pronouns when they are clear from the verb form.

Here:

• spremam already means I am tidying
• perem already means I am washing

So ja is unnecessary unless you want emphasis.

Compare:

• Spremam kuhinju. = I’m tidying the kitchen.
• Ja spremam kuhinju. = I’m the one tidying the kitchen / I am tidying the kitchen

The version without ja is the neutral, most natural one in many contexts.

Yes, Serbian word order is fairly flexible, but different orders change the emphasis.

The original:

• Večeras spremam kuhinju i perem sudove koji su na stolu.

This is natural and neutral. It puts večeras first, which nicely sets the time frame.

Other possible orders include:

• Spremam kuhinju večeras i perem sudove koji su na stolu.
• Perem sudove koji su na stolu i spremam kuhinju večeras.

These are grammatically possible, but they may sound less natural or emphasize different things.

For a learner, the original order is a very good standard pattern: time expression + verb + object + relative clause.

Yes, in this sentence i simply means and.

It connects two actions done by the same subject:

• spremam kuhinju
• perem sudove koji su na stolu

So:

• Večeras spremam kuhinju i perem sudove... = Tonight I’m tidying the kitchen and washing the dishes...

It is the normal coordinating conjunction for joining words, phrases, or clauses.

Yes. That is a very natural translation.

A few English versions work well:

• Tonight I’m tidying the kitchen and washing the dishes that are on the table.
• This evening I’m cleaning up the kitchen and washing the dishes on the table.
• Tonight I’m going to tidy the kitchen and wash the dishes that are on the table.

The exact English wording depends on style, but the Serbian sentence is straightforward and natural.