Learn Hardcore French: Nous vidons la machine à laver, puis nous la remplissons et mettons de la lessive. - We empty the washing machine, then we fill it and put in some detergent.

Bold la is the direct object pronoun replacing bold la machine à laver (feminine singular). With a conjugated verb, French places the object pronoun before the verb: bold nous la remplissons. It’s bold la (not bold le) because bold machine is feminine, and not bold lui because bold lui is for indirect objects (verbs that take bold à + person). Here, bold remplir takes a direct object.

Why isn’t there also a bold la before bold mettons?

Because the object of bold mettre here is bold de la lessive (some detergent), not the washing machine. Bold la would wrongly refer back to the machine. If you want to avoid repeating bold de la lessive, you’d use bold en: bold nous en mettons (we put some).

If I want to say “we put some in it,” which pronouns do I use?

Use bold y for “in it/there” (the machine) and bold en for “some (of it)”: bold Nous y en mettons. That order (bold y before bold en) is the standard clitic order. In practice, many speakers prefer the clearer bold Nous y mettons de la lessive to avoid stacking pronouns.

Do I have to repeat the subject bold nous before bold mettons?

No. In coordinated verbs with the same subject, French can omit the repeated subject: bold … puis nous la remplissons et mettons de la lessive. Repeating it is also fine and common: bold … puis nous la remplissons et nous mettons de la lessive.

Why bold de la lessive (partitive) and not bold la lessive?

Bold de la expresses an unspecified quantity (“some detergent”). Bold la lessive would mean a specific detergent already known from context, or the concept of detergent in general. So here bold de la is the natural choice.

Can bold lessive mean both “detergent” and “laundry”?

Yes. Context decides:

Bold mettre de la lessive = add detergent.
Bold faire la lessive = do the laundry (wash clothes).
Bold mettre la lessive often means “put the laundry (clothes) in,” not “add detergent,” so be careful.

Is bold machine à laver the only way to say “washing machine”?

No. Common alternatives:

Bold le lave-linge (very common, a bit more formal/standard).
Bold la machine à laver (very common in everyday speech). All mean “washing machine.”

Why bold machine à laver and not bold machine pour laver?

In noun phrases of purpose, French typically uses bold à + infinitive: bold machine à laver, bold verre à vin, bold sac à dos. Bold pour is fine in full clauses (bold une machine pour laver le linge), but the set phrase for the appliance is bold machine à laver / lave-linge.

Could I use bold ensuite or bold après instead of bold puis?

Bold ensuite is perfectly fine and very common: bold …, ensuite nous la remplissons….
Bold après works as an adverb with a pause: bold …, après, nous la remplissons….
As a conjunction, it’s bold après que + indicative: bold après que nous la remplissons/remplirons etc. Don’t use the subjunctive after bold après que. Bold puis is slightly bookish but perfectly correct.

Is the comma before bold puis required?

It’s optional. A comma often matches the spoken pause: bold Nous vidons …, puis nous….

Anything notable about the verb forms bold vidons, bold remplissons, bold mettons?

Bold vider (regular -er): bold nous vidons.
Bold remplir (regular -ir, 2nd group): bold nous remplissons; pattern -issons.
Bold mettre (irregular): bold je mets, tu mets, il/elle met, nous mettons, vous mettez, ils/elles mettent. Note the double bold tt in bold mettons/mettez and double bold tt + bold ent in bold mettent.

Pronunciation tips and liaisons?

Bold puis is pronounced roughly “pwee” [pɥi].
Liaison is common after bold nous: bold nous vidons → “nouz vidon.”
No liaison before bold et: bold remplissons et mettons is pronounced without linking the final -s of bold remplissons.

How would this look in the past (passé composé), and do we need agreement?

Bold Nous avons vidé la machine à laver, puis nous l’avons remplie et avons mis de la lessive.

Bold l’avons remplie: past participle agreement (bold -e) because bold l’ = bold la (feminine direct object) precedes the auxiliary.
Bold avons mis: no agreement with bold de la lessive; participle of bold mettre is invariable bold mis.

How do I negate the part with detergent?

Bold Nous n’y mettons pas de lessive. After negation, the partitive becomes bold de (not bold de la): bold pas de lessive. You can drop bold y if the place is obvious: bold Nous ne mettons pas de lessive.