Breakdown of Después de cenar, prefiero lavar la vajilla a mano.
yo
I
después de
after
cenar
to have dinner
preferir
to prefer
Questions & Answers about Después de cenar, prefiero lavar la vajilla a mano.
Why is it después de cenar and not something like después de ceno?
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:
You can also say después de la cena, but después de cenar is very natural and common.
Why is there a comma after Después de cenar?
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.
Why is it prefiero lavar and not prefiero lavo?