Breakdown of Mes gants sont sales; je les vide avant de les laver.
je
I
être
to be
avant de
before
mes
my
les
them
laver
to wash
sale
dirty
vider
to empty
le gant
the glove
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Questions & Answers about Mes gants sont sales; je les vide avant de les laver.
What does the pronoun les refer to, and why is it used twice?
It stands for mes gants (my gloves), a direct object in the plural. French repeats the object pronoun before each verb that governs it: je les vide … de les laver. You could also say: Je vide mes gants avant de les laver or Je les vide avant de laver mes gants.
Why not use leur or eux instead of les?
- les = direct object pronoun “them” (people or things).
- leur = indirect object pronoun “to them” (people), so it can’t replace a direct object like gloves.
- eux = stressed pronoun, mostly for emphasis or after prepositions and typically for people, not things.
Why is it avant de les laver and not avant les laver or avant à les laver?
French uses the preposition avant de + infinitive. The object pronoun goes before the infinitive, hence de les laver. Forms like avant les laver or avant à are ungrammatical.
When do I use avant de vs avant que?
- avant de
- infinitive when both actions share the same subject: Je les vide avant de les laver.
- avant que
- subjunctive when the subject changes: Vide-les avant que je ne les lave (the optional “ne” is the explétif).
Is vide here a verb or an adjective? Why not vides?
Here vide is the verb vider conjugated for je (present: je vide). Don’t add -s because only tu vides takes -s. As an adjective, vide means “empty,” e.g., Mes gants sont vides.
Why is sales plural?
Adjectives agree with the noun. Gants is masculine plural, so sales takes -s: Mes gants sont sales. Singular would be sale; the feminine plural is also sales (same spelling).
Could I say je les secoue or je les retourne instead of je les vide?
Yes, depending on the action:
- vider = empty them out (remove contents like sand/dirt).
- secouer = shake them out.
- retourner = turn them inside out.
Use the one that best matches what you actually do.
Why use a semicolon? Could I use a comma or a period?
The semicolon neatly links two closely related independent clauses. A period is also fine: Mes gants sont sales. Je les vide… A comma alone is less formal; many writers would add a conjunction (e.g., car, donc) if using a comma.
Where do object pronouns go with infinitives and with conjugated verbs?
They go before the verb they belong to:
- Before a conjugated verb: Je les vide.
- Before an infinitive: avant de les laver, je vais les laver.
Exception: in affirmative imperatives, they follow with a hyphen: Vide-les !
Can I drop the second les and say je les vide avant de laver?
No. laver is a transitive verb and needs its object. Keep the pronoun (avant de les laver) or repeat the noun (avant de laver mes gants).
Why isn’t there a contraction to des in de les laver?
de + les contracts to des only when les is a definite article (e.g., de laver les gants → “to wash the gloves”). Here les is a pronoun, so there is no contraction: de les laver.
How would this look in the past, and what about agreement?
Example: Hier, mes gants étaient sales; je les ai vidés avant de les laver. With passé composé and a preceding direct object pronoun (les), the past participle agrees: vidés. If you say you washed them: Je les ai lavés.
Does sale ever go before the noun, and does its meaning change?
Yes.
- After the noun, it’s literal: des gants sales = dirty gloves.
- Before the noun, it’s figurative/pejorative: un sale type = a nasty guy.
Any quick pronunciation tips for this sentence?
- gants: final -ts is silent → [gɑ̃].
- sont, avant: nasal vowels [sɔ̃], [avɑ̃].
- vide: [vid]; laver: [lave].
- No required liaison in gants sont, les vide (the next words start with consonants).