Learn Hardcore French: Après le déjeuner, ils ont vidé la boîte de lessive et ont rempli la machine à laver. - After lunch, they emptied the box of detergent and filled the washing machine.

After a container noun, French uses bare de + noun to indicate what it contains: une boîte de lessive, une bouteille d’eau, un verre de lait. Using de la here would either be ungrammatical or mean something else (e.g., specifying “the detergent’s box” rather than “a box of detergent”).

What exactly does boîte de lessive refer to?

It means the detergent package (often a box of powder). If the product were liquid, you’d likely see un bidon de lessive or une bouteille de lessive. Vider la boîte de lessive implies they poured out/used up the detergent in that package.

Could you say boîte à lessive instead? What’s the difference?

boîte de lessive = a box containing detergent (content).
boîte à lessive = a box intended for detergent (a storage tin/box designed for that purpose). French uses de for content and à for intended use.

Is remplir la machine à laver idiomatic here?

It’s understandable, but for “to load the washer (with clothes),” natives often say charger la machine (à laver) or mettre le linge dans la machine. For detergent, they’d say mettre de la lessive. Remplir by itself can be vague unless you add what you’re filling it with (e.g., remplir la machine de linge).

Why is it machine à laver and not machine de laver?

French uses noun + à + infinitive to express purpose: machine à laver (machine for washing), machine à coudre, cafetière/machine à café. De would indicate content or composition, which isn’t the idea here.

Do we have to repeat ont in ils ont vidé … et ont rempli …?

No. You can also write Ils ont vidé la boîte de lessive et rempli la machine à laver. Repeating ont is optional and can improve clarity when the second verb has its own complements or the sentence is longer.

Why use avoir as the auxiliary (not être) in ils ont vidé/rempli?

Most transitive verbs take avoir in the passé composé. Être is used with all pronominal verbs and a limited set of intransitive verbs (movement/state-change like aller, venir, naître, mourir, etc.).

Should vidé or rempli agree with ils? Why no plural ending?

With avoir, the past participle does not agree with the subject. It only agrees with a preceding direct object. Example:

Ils ont vidé la boîte. (no agreement)
Ils l’ont vidée. (agreement with preceding feminine direct object la = la boîte)
Ils l’ont remplie. (agreement with la machine)

Why use the passé composé here and not the imperfect?

The sentence narrates completed, sequential actions (“they emptied…, then filled…”). That’s exactly the domain of the passé composé. The imperfect would be for ongoing/background/habitual actions.

Could I say Après déjeuner or Après avoir déjeuné instead of Après le déjeuner?

Yes:

Après le déjeuner = after the lunch (very common).
Après déjeuner = after lunch/lunching (concise, a bit more formal/literary).
Après avoir déjeuné = after having eaten lunch (very natural). If you use a clause, it’s Après que
- indicative: Après qu’ils ont/avaient déjeuné (not the subjunctive).

Any pronunciation or liaison tips for this sentence?

ils ont has a mandatory liaison: [il‿z ɔ̃].
vidé = [vide] (final é is closed; don’t say “viday”).
boîte = [bwat]; the circumflex doesn’t change today’s pronunciation.
lessive = [lɛsiv]; de often reduces to [d(ə)] before a consonant.
machine à laver = [maʃin a lave]; clear [ʃ] in machine.

Does lessive mean “detergent” or “the laundry” as an activity?

Both, by context:

mettre de la lessive = put in detergent.
faire la lessive = do the laundry (wash clothes).

Is there a shorter or alternative term for machine à laver?

Yes, le lave-linge is a common synonym in France. In everyday speech, people also just say la machine when the context is clear.

Does déjeuner always mean “lunch”?

In France, le déjeuner = lunch. In Canadian French (and parts of Belgium/Switzerland), le déjeuner = breakfast, le dîner = lunch, le souper = dinner. So context and variety matter.

Is the comma after Après le déjeuner necessary?

It’s standard (and recommended) to set off an initial adverbial phrase with a comma in French: Après le déjeuner, … It improves readability. Some writers omit it, but the comma is good style.

Could I use on instead of ils?

Yes. Spoken French often uses on for “we/they/people”: Après le déjeuner, on a vidé la boîte de lessive et on a rempli la machine à laver.