Después de cenar, prefiero lavar la vajilla a mano.

Because after the preposition de, Spanish normally uses the infinitive when the subject is the same.

So:

• después de cenar = after having dinner / after dinner

But:

• ceno = I have dinner
• ceno is a conjugated verb, so it does not fit after de in this structure.

This is a very common pattern in Spanish:

• antes de salir = before leaving
• después de comer = after eating
• sin hablar = without speaking

You can also say después de la cena, but después de cenar is very natural and common.

The comma separates the introductory time phrase from the main clause.

• Después de cenar, = after dinner / after having dinner
• prefiero lavar la vajilla a mano = I prefer to wash the dishes by hand

In Spanish, this comma is common and helps readability. It is especially natural when the introductory phrase comes first.

You may also see the sentence without a comma in informal writing, but using it here is perfectly standard.

After a verb like preferir, Spanish usually uses an infinitive for the second verb.

So:

• prefiero lavar = I prefer to wash

Not:

• prefiero lavo

This is the same idea as in English:

• I prefer to wash
• not I prefer I wash

Other similar examples:

• quiero comer = I want to eat
• necesito estudiar = I need to study
• prefiero esperar = I prefer to wait

Because preferir is a stem-changing verb.

Its infinitive is preferir, but in many present-tense forms the e in the stem changes to ie:

• yo prefiero
• tú prefieres
• él/ella prefiere
• nosotros preferimos
• vosotros preferís
• ellos prefieren

So prefiero means I prefer.

This kind of change is very common in Spanish. Similar verbs include:

• querer → quiero
• pensar → pienso
• entender → entiendo

Vajilla means dishes, tableware, or the crockery/plates/cups etc.

In this sentence, lavar la vajilla means to wash the dishes.

A useful thing to know is that vajilla refers to the set of items used for eating and serving food, not just one plate. Depending on context, Spanish speakers might also say:

• lavar los platos
• fregar los platos

In Spain, fregar los platos is especially common in everyday speech.

So lavar la vajilla is correct, but it can sound a bit more neutral or slightly more formal than the very everyday fregar los platos.

In Spanish, nouns are often used with an article where English would not use one.

So:

• lavar la vajilla = wash the dishes

The definite article la sounds natural here because vajilla is being treated as the general set of dishes involved in the meal.

Spanish uses definite articles much more often than English does, especially with general categories and familiar household items.

Compare:

• Me duelen las piernas = My legs hurt
• Cierro la puerta = I close the door
• Lavo la vajilla = I wash the dishes

Saying lavar vajilla would sound incomplete or unnatural in normal Spanish.

A mano means by hand.

So:

• lavar la vajilla a mano = to wash the dishes by hand

It tells you the washing is done manually, not with a dishwasher.

This expression is very common:

• hacer algo a mano = do something by hand
• lavar a mano = wash by hand
• escrito a mano = handwritten

In Spain, if you want to contrast it with using a dishwasher, you might say:

• a mano = by hand
• en el lavavajillas = in the dishwasher

Yes. Both are correct, but they are structured differently.

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

The first uses an infinitive and focuses on the action. The second uses a noun phrase and focuses on the event or meal itself.

In everyday use, both are natural. Después de cenar is especially common because Spanish often uses infinitives after prepositions in this kind of situation.

Cenar specifically means to have dinner / to eat the evening meal.

It is not a general verb for to eat. The general verb is:

• comer = to eat

Related meal verbs are:

• desayunar = to have breakfast
• almorzar = to have lunch in some regions
• comer = to eat / to have lunch in Spain in many contexts
• cenar = to have dinner

So in this sentence, después de cenar clearly means after dinner.

It is correct, but it is not the only natural option.

In Spain, very common everyday phrases are:

• fregar los platos
• lavar los platos

Lavar la vajilla is still understandable and correct, but it can sound a little more formal, neutral, or less conversational depending on the speaker.

So if your goal is very natural everyday Spain Spanish, you will often hear:

• Después de cenar, prefiero fregar los platos a mano.

But the original sentence is still good Spanish.

Yes, a mano can move, but the original position is very natural.

The sentence:

• prefiero lavar la vajilla a mano

sounds clear and standard.

You could also hear:

• prefiero lavar a mano la vajilla

but this is a bit less neutral in many contexts.

In general, Spanish allows more flexibility in word order than English, but some positions sound more natural than others. Placing a mano at the end is very common because it neatly adds the manner of the action after the object.

Yes, often it can.

• Prefiero lavar la vajilla a mano can mean:
  • I prefer to wash the dishes by hand
  • I’d rather wash the dishes by hand

The exact English translation depends on tone and context.

A small nuance:

• I prefer to... is a straightforward statement of preference.
• I’d rather... can sound a bit more immediate or contrastive.

But in many everyday contexts, both work well for prefiero + infinitive.

You put no before the conjugated verb:

• Después de cenar, no prefiero lavar la vajilla a mano.

Grammatically, that is correct, but in real life it sounds a bit unusual because not prefer is not the most natural thing to say.

Spanish speakers would often say something more direct, such as:

• Después de cenar, prefiero no lavar la vajilla a mano. = After dinner, I prefer not to wash the dishes by hand.
• Después de cenar, no me gusta lavar la vajilla a mano. = After dinner, I don’t like washing the dishes by hand.

So if you want to negate the preference for the action itself, prefiero no + infinitive is usually the most natural choice.

You would say:

• Después de cenar, preferimos lavar la vajilla a mano.

Here, only preferir changes:

• yo prefiero
• nosotros preferimos

Notice that in the nosotros form, the stem change disappears:

• preferir → preferimos, not prefierimos

That pattern is normal for many stem-changing verbs in the present tense.