Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): Quiero recoger la mesa después de cenar.

Recoger la mesa is an idiomatic expression that means “to clear the table” (remove plates, glasses, cutlery, leftover food, etc. after a meal).

Literally, recoger = “to pick up / to gather / to collect,” and la mesa = “the table,” but Spanish speakers don’t understand this as physically picking the table up. In everyday use in Spain, recoger la mesa is the normal way to say “clear the table after eating.”

Why is it la mesa and not just mesa or something like recogerla?

Spanish almost always uses an article with countable nouns when a specific thing is meant, so la mesa = “the table” (the one we just ate at). Dropping the article (recoger mesa) would sound very odd here.

You could replace la mesa with a pronoun if it’s already clear from context:

Quiero recogerla después de cenar. = “I want to clear it after dinner.”

But in a neutral, standalone sentence, recoger la mesa is the most natural.

Why is it quiero recoger and not something like quiero recojo?

In Spanish, when you use querer to talk about wanting to do something, it’s querer + infinitive (the base form):

Quiero recoger = “I want to clear (the table).”

You never conjugate the second verb in that structure. Quiero recojo is ungrammatical.
So, patterns like quiero comer, quiero dormir, quiero salir, quiero recoger are all “I want to [do something].”

Where is the word “I” in Spanish? Why isn’t it yo quiero?

The subject “I” is included in the verb form quiero. Spanish verb endings show who the subject is:

quiero = I want
quieres = you (singular) want
quiere = he/she/you (formal) want(s)

Because of this, Spanish usually omits the subject pronoun unless it’s needed for emphasis or contrast.
So both are correct:

Quiero recoger la mesa…
Yo quiero recoger la mesa… (more emphatic: I want to clear the table.)

What’s the difference between recoger la mesa, quitar la mesa, and limpiar la mesa?

In Spain:

Recoger la mesa = clear the table (remove dishes, food, etc.).
Quitar la mesa is also used in Spain with practically the same meaning: clear/remove everything from the table after a meal.
Limpiar la mesa = clean/wipe the table (usually with a cloth, after clearing it).

So a typical sequence:

Recoger / quitar la mesa (clear everything off),
Limpiar la mesa (wipe it down).

Why is it después de cenar and not después cenar or después cenando?

In Spanish, prepositions (like después de, antes de, para, sin) must be followed by an infinitive, not a conjugated form and not a gerund:

después de cenar = after eating dinner
antes de dormir = before sleeping

So después cenar and después cenando are incorrect.
The full structure is después de + infinitive.

What’s the difference between después de cenar and después de la cena?

Both are correct, but they sound slightly different:

después de cenar = “after eating dinner” (focus on the action).
después de la cena = “after the dinner” (focus on the event/meal as a thing).

In everyday speech when talking about your own routine, después de cenar is more common and natural.
Después de la cena is also fine, but can sound a bit more formal or event-focused (e.g. a special dinner).

Could I also say Después de cenar quiero recoger la mesa? Is that word order okay?

Yes, that’s perfectly correct and natural:

Quiero recoger la mesa después de cenar.
Después de cenar quiero recoger la mesa.

Both mean the same thing. Spanish word order is relatively flexible as long as you keep related pieces together. Moving después de cenar to the beginning just changes the emphasis slightly (“After dinner, I want to clear the table”), but it doesn’t change the basic meaning.

Does quiero here sound too direct or rude? How would you say it more politely?

In this exact sentence, Quiero recoger la mesa después de cenar, you’re talking about what you want to do, so it doesn’t sound rude; it’s just stating your intention.

It becomes an issue when you want someone else to do something:

Quiero que recojas la mesa. = “I want you to clear the table.” (can sound direct/bossy depending on tone).

More polite/softer options:

Me gustaría que recogieras la mesa. = “I’d like you to clear the table.”
¿Puedes recoger la mesa, por favor? = “Can you clear the table, please?”

Why is it cenar and not something like comer la cena?

Spanish has a specific verb cenar = “to have dinner / to eat dinner.” You normally don’t need to say comer la cena.

Typical meal verbs:

desayunar = to have breakfast
comer = to have lunch (in Spain)
cenar = to have dinner

So después de cenar is the natural way to say “after having dinner” in Spain.

Does Quiero recoger la mesa después de cenar mean I always do this, or that I want to do it this time?

Spanish present tense is flexible. Quiero recoger la mesa después de cenar can mean:

a specific, immediate intention: “I want to clear the table after this dinner,” or
a more general preference or habit, depending on context.

If you wanted to stress a plan for this specific occasion, you could also say:

Voy a recoger la mesa después de cenar. = “I’m going to clear the table after dinner.”
But your original sentence is already natural for either context; tone and situation will clarify it.