Después de cenar, guardo los cubiertos en el cajón.

Both are possible, but they mean things in slightly different ways.

• después de cenar = after having dinner / after eating dinner
• después de la cena = after dinner / after the dinner meal

A very common Spanish pattern is:

• después de + infinitive

So:

• después de comer = after eating / after lunch
• después de trabajar = after working
• después de cenar = after having dinner

Spanish often uses an infinitive where English might use -ing or a noun phrase.

Cenar is the infinitive verb meaning to have dinner / to eat dinner.

In this sentence, it is not conjugated because it comes after the preposition de in the expression después de.

So:

• ceno = I have dinner
• cenar = to have dinner

In después de cenar, Spanish uses the infinitive just like English uses after eating or after having dinner.

Guardo is the yo form of guardar in the present tense:

• yo guardo = I put away / I store / I keep

In Spanish, the present tense can describe:

• a habitual action: After dinner, I put away the silverware
• a general routine: After dinner, I put the cutlery in the drawer

So this sentence most naturally sounds like a routine or regular action, not necessarily something happening right this second.

Not usually in this kind of sentence.

Although guardar is related historically to the idea of guarding or keeping, in everyday Spanish it often means:

• to put away
• to store
• to keep

So here, guardo los cubiertos en el cajón means something like:

• I put away the silverware in the drawer
• I store the cutlery in the drawer

If you translated it as I guard the silverware, that would sound odd in normal English.

Spanish uses definite articles much more often than English does.

Here, los cubiertos means the utensils / the silverware / the cutlery. Even if English might say just silverware, Spanish often prefers the article.

So:

• guardo los cubiertos = I put away the silverware

This often happens when the objects are understood in context as the normal, known set of things in the house.

Cubiertos usually means cutlery, silverware, or eating utensils such as:

• forks
• knives
• spoons

In many Latin American contexts, los cubiertos is the normal word for this group of items.

Be aware that utensilios is broader and can include kitchen tools in general, while cubiertos is more specifically the set used for eating.

Because en is the normal preposition here for placing something in a container or enclosed place.

• en el cajón = in the drawer

With guardar, Spanish commonly says:

• guardar algo en algún lugar = to put/store something in some place

So:

• Guardo los cubiertos en el cajón = I put the silverware in the drawer

Using al cajón would sound unnatural here. A often marks movement toward a destination, but with guardar, the standard phrasing is en.

Cajón means drawer.

Compare:

• cajón = drawer
• caja = box
• gaveta = drawer

In much of Latin America, cajón is very common for drawer, though in some regions gaveta is also used.

So in this sentence:

• en el cajón = in the drawer

not in the box.

The accent marks show where the stress goes.

• después → stress on the last syllable: des-PUÉS
• cajón → stress on the last syllable: ca-JÓN

Without the written accent, Spanish pronunciation rules would suggest a different stress pattern, so the accent mark is necessary.

These accents are part of the correct spelling and should always be written.

Yes. Spanish word order is flexible.

This sentence starts with a time phrase:

• Después de cenar, guardo los cubiertos en el cajón.

You could also say:

• Guardo los cubiertos en el cajón después de cenar.

Both are correct. The original version puts a little more focus on when the action happens: after dinner.

Also, when a phrase like Después de cenar comes first, it is very common to write a comma after it.

Yes, but the nuance is a little different.

• poner = to put
• guardar = to put away / store / keep

So:

• Pongo los cubiertos en el cajón = I put the silverware in the drawer
• Guardo los cubiertos en el cajón = I put away the silverware in the drawer

Guardar sounds more natural if the idea is that you are putting them back where they belong after using them.