Breakdown of Was du heute nicht brauchst, legst du bitte in den Wäschekorb.
heute
today
du
you
nicht
not
brauchen
to need
Questions & Answers about Was du heute nicht brauchst, legst du bitte in den Wäschekorb.
Is was here a question word?
No. Here was is a free relative pronoun meaning “what/whatever.” The whole clause Was du heute nicht brauchst functions as a single noun phrase (the direct object of the main clause). You could make that sense explicit with Alles, was du heute nicht brauchst or Das, was du heute nicht brauchst.
Why is the verb at the end in the first clause (brauchst)?
Because it’s a subordinate (relative) clause. In German subordinate clauses the conjugated verb goes to the end: …, was/daß/wenn … brauchst. That’s also why nicht stands right before the verb here: … nicht brauchst.
Why is it legst du and not du legst?
German main clauses are verb‑second. The first position is already taken by the fronted clause Was du heute nicht brauchst, so the finite verb legst must come next, followed by the subject du: [Was du … brauchst], legst du …. If you started with the subject, you’d say Du legst ….
Can I just use the imperative instead?
Yes: Leg bitte (alles), was du heute nicht brauchst, in den Wäschekorb. Both forms are natural. The original V2 declarative with du plus bitte is a common spoken way to give instructions; depending on tone, it can sound matter‑of‑fact or a bit more insistent.