Mi abuelo guarda el tablero en un armario alto después de que terminemos de jugar.

My grandfather puts the board away in a high cupboard after we finish playing.

Breakdown of Mi abuelo guarda el tablero en un armario alto después de que terminemos de jugar.

• un: a
• en: in
• mi: my
• nosotros: we
• de: of
• terminar: to finish
• jugar: to play
• guardar: to put away
• .: period
• alto: high
• el abuelo: the grandfather
• después de que: after
• el tablero: the board
• el armario: the cupboard

Questions & Answers about Mi abuelo guarda el tablero en un armario alto después de que terminemos de jugar.

What exactly does guarda mean here, and why not use something like pone or mete?

Guardar basically means to put something away so that it is kept/stored. In this sentence, Mi abuelo guarda el tablero means:

• My grandfather puts the board away / stores the board / keeps the board (in a place).

Nuances:

• guardar: to put away, keep, store, save (to keep it safe or in its usual place).
  
  • Guarda el dinero en el cajón. = He keeps/puts the money away in the drawer.
• poner: to put/place something somewhere (more neutral, focuses on the act of placing).
  
  • Pone el tablero en la mesa. = He puts the board on the table.
• meter: to put/put inside (emphasises “into” a space).
  
  • Mete el tablero en el armario. = He puts the board into the cupboard.

In this context, guardar is natural in Spain because the idea is “putting the board away in its usual, safe place” after playing, not just placing it somewhere randomly.

Why is it el tablero and not la tabla or something like el juego?

In this context el tablero means the board you play on (for a board game, chess, etc.).

• tablero: a flat board used for games or as a surface
  
  • tablero de ajedrez = chessboard
  • tablero del juego = the game board
• tabla: a plank or board of wood, like a chopping board or surfboard
  
  • tabla de cortar = chopping board
  • tabla de surf = surfboard
• juego: the game itself (the set: board + pieces + rules), not just the board
  
  • un juego de mesa = a board game

So, if the focus is the physical playing surface, el tablero is the correct word.

Why is it un armario alto and not un alto armario? Does word order change the meaning?

Yes, word order of adjectives often matters in Spanish.

• The normal pattern is noun + adjective:
  
  • un armario alto = a tall cupboard/wardrobe.
• alto before the noun (un alto armario) is grammatically possible but sounds literary or odd here, and can change the nuance. With some nouns, alto before the noun is more “high-ranking / important” than “physically tall”:
  • un alto funcionario = a high-ranking official (not a tall person)
  • un funcionario alto = a tall official

With furniture, speakers in Spain would normally say un armario alto to mean a cupboard that is physically tall. Un alto armario would sound marked, poetic, or strange in everyday speech.

Could the sentence be Mi abuelo lo guarda en un armario alto? When do you use lo instead of repeating el tablero?

Yes, you can say:

• Mi abuelo lo guarda en un armario alto.

Here lo is a direct object pronoun that refers back to el tablero.

• If the object has just been mentioned and is clear, Spanish often prefers pronouns:
  • ¿Dónde está el tablero? – Mi abuelo lo guarda en un armario alto.

In a single isolated example sentence (like in a textbook), it is common to repeat the full noun el tablero to make it clear what is being talked about. In real conversation, once el tablero is known, swapping to lo is very natural.

You could also say:

• El tablero lo guarda mi abuelo en un armario alto.

This adds emphasis to el tablero, but that’s a more advanced word-order point.

Why is the verb guarda (simple present) used, instead of something like está guardando (present continuous) to mean “is putting away”?

In Spanish, the simple present (guarda) is used much more often than English uses its simple present.

• Mi abuelo guarda el tablero…
  = My grandfather puts / puts away / is the one who puts away the board (habitually or generally).

The present continuous está guardando is used in Spanish mainly to emphasise that something is happening right now, at this very moment, and it is still in progress:

• Ahora mismo está guardando el tablero.
  = Right now he’s putting the board away.

In your sentence, the idea is a repeated habit (“after we finish playing, he puts the board away”), so the simple present guarda is exactly what speakers in Spain would use.

Why is it después de que terminemos and not después de que terminamos?

This is about the subjunctive vs indicative after time conjunctions like después de que.

In standard Spanish (especially in Spain):

• If the action is in the future / not yet done, use subjunctive:
  • Después de que terminemos de jugar, mi abuelo guarda el tablero.
    = After we finish playing (in the future / each time we finish), my grandfather puts the board away.
• If the action is past or presented as a fact/habit already completed, use indicative:
  • Después de que terminamos de jugar, mi abuelo guardó el tablero.
    = After we finished playing, my grandfather put the board away. (specific past event)

In your sentence, the idea is a time that comes after a finishing that hasn’t happened yet (each future occasion of finishing the game), so terminemos (present subjunctive) is the normal, recommended choice in Spain.

In everyday speech, especially in many parts of Latin America, people often use the indicative (terminamos) even when talking about the future, but in Spain and in formal/written Spanish, terminemos is preferred here.

Why does después de que take the subjunctive terminemos? What is the rule?

Many conjunctions of time and condition can trigger the subjunctive when the event is:

• future / not yet realized, or
• hypothetical / uncertain.

Common examples: cuando, después de que, hasta que, en cuanto, tan pronto como, antes de que, mientras (que), etc.

Pattern (in neutral, standard Spanish):

• Subjunctive when the action is future / pending:
  • Lo haremos cuando terminemos.
  • Después de que terminemos de jugar, guarda el tablero.
• Indicative when the action is past or factual/habitual as a completed fact:
  • Lo hicimos cuando terminamos.
  • Siempre lo hace después de que terminan de jugar. (a stated, settled habit)

In your sentence, “after we finish playing” refers to a point that is always after a not-yet-completed action, so Spanish treats it as a future-like situation and uses terminemos (present subjunctive).

Why is there a de in después de que and also in terminemos de jugar?

There are actually two different “de”s here, with two different roles:

1. después de que

   • The preposition is después de.
   • When you link a full clause (with a subject and verb), you add que:
     • después de la cena = after dinner (noun)
     • después de cenar = after eating (infinitive)
     • después de que cenemos = after we eat (clause with subject + verb)

   In standard Spanish (especially in Spain), después de que is the recommended form. después que (without de) is more typical in parts of Latin America.

2. terminar de + infinitive

   • The verb terminar needs de before another verb in the infinitive when it means “to finish doing something”:
     • terminar de comer = to finish eating
     • terminamos de jugar = we finish playing

   Without de (terminamos jugar) is incorrect in standard Spanish.

So both des are required for grammatical reasons, but they belong to different structures.

Could we just say después de jugar instead of después de que terminemos de jugar? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say:

• Mi abuelo guarda el tablero en un armario alto después de jugar.

This is also correct, and often simpler. The differences:

• después de jugar
  = after playing (more general; it doesn’t explicitly mention “finishing”, it just places the action after the activity of playing).
• después de que terminemos de jugar
  = after we finish playing (it clearly focuses on the moment the game ends).

In practice, in many contexts they're very close in meaning. The version with terminemos de jugar is slightly more explicit about “once the game is over”, and it lets you practice the subjunctive.

Can I move después de que terminemos de jugar to the beginning of the sentence? Does that change the meaning?

Yes, you can change the order:

• Después de que terminemos de jugar, mi abuelo guarda el tablero en un armario alto.

This is perfectly natural. In Spanish, time clauses like this can go at the beginning or the end. The meaning is the same:

• End position: Mi abuelo guarda el tablero… después de que terminemos de jugar.
  → Slightly more neutral.
• Beginning: Después de que terminemos de jugar, mi abuelo guarda…
  → Places a bit more emphasis on the time (“Once we finish playing…”).

But grammatically and in terms of basic meaning, there is no real change.

Why is it Mi abuelo and not El abuelo? When would you use el abuelo?

Mi abuelo literally means my grandfather, and that is the most common way to talk about your own relatives:

• mi abuelo, mi abuela, mi padre, mi madre, mi hermano, etc.

El abuelo literally means the grandfather, but it can be used:

1. When everyone in the conversation knows which grandfather you mean, often within a family:
   • El abuelo guarda el tablero en un armario alto.
     = Grandad puts the board away in a tall cupboard.
2. To talk about a “grandfather figure” in a story or as a role:
   • El abuelo siempre cuenta historias. = The grandad always tells stories.

In the textbook-style sentence, Mi abuelo is used to clearly show the personal relationship: it’s my own grandfather, not just “the grandad” generically.