Learn Hardcore French: Elle remplit la machine à laver avec ses gants et des serviettes, puis elle démarre le programme. - She fills the washing machine with her gloves and some towels, then she starts the cycle.

In French compound nouns, à + infinitive expresses purpose: machine à laver = a machine for washing. Using de would express content/characteristic (e.g., une tasse de café) and machine de laver is not idiomatic.

Is machine à laver the same as lave-linge?

Yes. They’re synonyms. Machine à laver (feminine, focuses on “machine”) and lave-linge (masculine, a bit more technical) are both standard. In Canada you may also see laveuse; lessiveuse is old-fashioned.

Can I say remplir la machine de gants et de serviettes instead of avec?

Yes, and many speakers find remplir … de X more idiomatic than avec X for contents. So: Elle remplit la machine de gants et de serviettes is very natural. With de, you can later replace that phrase with the pronoun en.

Does avec ses gants mean she is wearing gloves to load the machine?

Here it means the machine is being filled with gloves (the contents), especially since it’s paired with des serviettes. To say she’s wearing gloves while doing it, use e.g. en portant des gants or avec des gants aux mains.

Why is it ses gants but des serviettes?

ses gants: possessive; the gloves belong to her.
des serviettes: indefinite plural; some towels, not specified as hers. You could say ses serviettes if they’re her towels, or des gants if the gloves aren’t necessarily hers.

How does the possessive son/sa/ses work here?

It agrees with the thing possessed, not with the possessor:

son
- masculine singular (e.g., son gant)
sa
- feminine singular (e.g., sa serviette)
ses
- any plural (e.g., ses gants, ses serviettes) Note: son is also used before feminine nouns starting with a vowel sound (e.g., son amie).

How can I replace the repeated nouns with pronouns?

For the machine (feminine): la. For the program (masculine): le.
Example: Elle la remplit…, puis elle le démarre.
If you rephrase with a place complement (e.g., dans la machine), you can use y: Elle y met ses gants et des serviettes, puis elle le démarre.

If I switch to remplir … de …, how do the pronouns change?

You can use two pronouns: feminine direct object la for the machine and en for the de-phrase:
Elle l’en remplit, puis elle le démarre.
(Order: me/te/se/nous/vous + le/la/les + lui/leur + y + en.)

Why the present tense—doesn’t French have a progressive like “is filling”?

French uses the simple present for both simple and progressive meanings. Elle remplit… can mean “She fills/She is filling.” If you want to emphasize the ongoing action, you can say Elle est en train de remplir….

What’s the difference between démarrer, lancer, mettre en marche, and allumer?

démarrer (le programme/le cycle): start it running (very common for appliances).
lancer (un programme/un cycle): start/launch; also common.
mettre en marche / mettre en route: put into operation; neutral and common.
allumer (la machine): switch the power on; not the same as starting a specific program.

Why le programme and not un programme?

The definite article suggests the specific program that’s been selected or is contextually clear (“the cycle”). Un programme would introduce a new, unspecified program (“a program”).

Can I drop the second subject and say …, puis démarre le programme?

Yes, that’s possible and can sound a bit more concise or literary. In everyday speech/writing, repeating elle is more common: …, puis elle démarre le programme.

Is the comma before puis correct?

Yes, it’s acceptable but not required. You can write it with or without the comma: …, puis elle démarre… or … puis elle démarre…. It’s a matter of style and rhythm.

Does serviette mean towel or napkin?

Both. In a laundry context it’s understood as “towel.” To be explicit:

serviette de bain: bath towel
serviette de table: table napkin

Are gants gloves or mittens? What about oven mitts and wash mitts?

gants: gloves (separate fingers)
moufles (France) / mitaines (Canada): mittens
gant de cuisine / gant de four: oven mitt
gant de toilette: wash mitt (washcloth glove)

Is remplir the most natural verb here? Could I say charger?

For laundry, many people say charger la machine or mettre le linge dans la machine. Remplir is acceptable but charger often sounds more idiomatic in everyday speech.

Why des serviettes after avec and not de serviettes?

After avec, use the normal article: avec des serviettes. You use bare de with quantities or negation: avec beaucoup de serviettes, sans serviettes. With remplir de, de is required because it marks contents: remplir de serviettes.

Is puis the same as ensuite or alors?

puis and ensuite both mean “then/next” and are largely interchangeable.
alors is more like “so/then/well” and often signals a conclusion or transition rather than simple sequence.

Any pronunciation tips for this sentence?

remplit: final -t is silent ([ʁɑ̃pli]).
gants: final -ts is silent ([ɡɑ̃]).
serviettes: the plural -s is silent; same sound as singular ([sɛʁvjɛt]).
puis: [pɥi], the -s is silent.
démarre: [demaʁ].
Liaison is natural between puis elle ([pɥi‿ɛl]) but not between ses gants (no liaison before a consonant).