Nach dem Waschen stecke ich die nassen Socken nicht in den Trockner, sondern hänge sie lieber auf den Wäscheständer.

Because Waschen is being used as a noun here, not as a normal verb. German often turns verbs into nouns this way; this is called a nominalized infinitive.

• waschen = to wash
• das Waschen = the washing

Since all German nouns are capitalized, it becomes Waschen.

The preposition nach takes the dative case in this meaning (after). So:

• das Waschen → nominative
• dem Waschen → dative

That is why the sentence says nach dem Waschen = after the washing / after washing.

Yes, literally it does. But in natural English, we usually say after washing or after doing the washing.

German often uses this noun structure where English might prefer -ing:

• nach dem Essen = after eating
• beim Arbeiten = while working
• vor dem Schlafen = before sleeping

So nach dem Waschen is a very normal German way to say after washing.

In a German main clause, the finite verb must usually be in second position. This is often called the V2 rule.

Here, Nach dem Waschen takes the first position, so the verb stecke has to come next:

• Nach dem Waschen | stecke | ich ...

If you started with ich, then you would say:

• Ich stecke nach dem Waschen die nassen Socken ...

Both are possible, but once Nach dem Waschen comes first, the verb must immediately follow it.

For the same V2 reason. German does not count individual words here; it counts sentence elements or chunks.

So:

• Nach dem Waschen = first element
• stecke = second position
• ich = comes after the verb

This is very common in German:

• Heute gehe ich nach Hause.
• Am Montag arbeiten wir nicht.
• Nach dem Essen trinke ich Kaffee.

Because Socken is plural, and here it is the direct object of stecken.

• singular: die Socke
• plural: die Socken

With the definite article in the plural, the adjective usually takes -en:

• die nassen Socken

So:

• die = the
• nassen = wet
• Socken = socks

This is because of adjective endings. After the definite article die in the plural, the adjective normally takes -en.

Examples:

• die nassen Socken
• die sauberen Hemden
• die weißen Tücher

This happens in several cases, including nominative plural and accusative plural.

Because the sentence describes movement into the dryer, not location inside it.

German uses some prepositions, including in, with either:

• accusative for direction / motion toward
• dative for location

So:

• Ich stecke die Socken in den Trockner. = I put the socks into the dryer.
  → motion, so accusative
• Die Socken sind im Trockner. = The socks are in the dryer.
  → location, so dative

Here, the socks are being moved into the dryer, so in den Trockner is correct.

Yes. The noun is:

• der Trockner = the dryer

After in with movement, you need the accusative, so:

• nominative: der Trockner
• accusative: den Trockner

That is why the sentence has in den Trockner.

Sondern is used after a negated statement to replace it with the correct alternative.

Here the sentence says:

• nicht in den Trockner, sondern ...
• not in the dryer, but rather ...

Use sondern when the first part is negated and the second part corrects or contrasts it.

Compare:

• Ich trinke keinen Tee, sondern Kaffee.
  = I’m not drinking tea, but coffee.
• Ich trinke Tee, aber keinen Kaffee.
  = I drink tea, but not coffee.

So in this sentence, sondern is the right conjunction because the first option is explicitly rejected with nicht.

Because sondern connects two coordinated clauses or clause-like parts, and in German it is normally preceded by a comma.

So:

• ..., sondern ...

This is standard German punctuation.

Yes. The verb is aufhängen, which means to hang up.

It is a separable verb:

• infinitive: aufhängen
• main clause: ich hänge ... auf
• subordinate clause / infinitive form: ..., weil ich sie aufhänge / sie aufzuhängen

So in the sentence:

• hänge = the main verb part
• auf = the separable prefix, placed at the end of the clause

This is a very common German pattern.

Because the subject is ich, and the present tense form is:

• ich hänge
• du hängst
• er/sie/es hängt
• wir hängen
• ihr hängt
• sie/Sie hängen

So hänge is simply the first-person singular present tense form.

Here sie refers to die nassen Socken.

Since Socken is plural, the matching pronoun is sie = them.

So:

• die nassen Socken → sie

In the sentence:

• ... sondern hänge sie lieber ...
• ... but I’d rather hang them ...

Lieber is often used to express preference: rather, preferably, or would rather.

So:

• Ich hänge sie lieber auf den Wäscheständer.
• I’d rather hang them on the drying rack.

It does not literally mean more dear here, even though it is historically related to lieb. In everyday German, lieber often means preferably / rather.

Examples:

• Ich bleibe lieber zu Hause. = I’d rather stay home.
• Trinkst du lieber Tee oder Kaffee? = Do you prefer tea or coffee?

German adverbs like lieber are fairly flexible, but this position is very natural. It comes before the separable prefix phrase and modifies the action:

• ... sondern hänge sie lieber auf den Wäscheständer.

It signals the speaker’s preference: instead of using the dryer, they prefer hanging the socks up.

You could sometimes move it, but this placement sounds very normal.

Because this also describes movement toward a destination: the socks are being hung onto the drying rack.

Like in, the preposition auf can take:

• accusative for movement/direction
• dative for location

So:

• Ich hänge die Socken auf den Wäscheständer.
  = I hang the socks onto the drying rack.
  → movement, so accusative
• Die Socken hängen auf dem Wäscheständer.
  = The socks are hanging on the drying rack.
  → location, so dative

That is why the sentence uses auf den Wäscheständer.

Wäscheständer is masculine:

• der Wäscheständer = the drying rack / clothes horse

With auf showing movement, you need the accusative:

• nominative: der Wäscheständer
• accusative: den Wäscheständer

So the sentence correctly says auf den Wäscheständer.

This is mostly an idiomatic choice in German. A Wäscheständer is thought of as a rack with bars, so auf den Wäscheständer is natural.

German often uses different prepositions from English, so it is best to learn these as normal combinations rather than translating word-for-word.

A few related examples:

• auf den Wäscheständer hängen = hang on the drying rack
• an die Leine hängen = hang on the clothesline
• an den Haken hängen = hang on the hook

So the choice of auf here is natural German usage.

Stecken often means to put/stick something into something. It is a good choice when something is inserted into a space or container.

So:

• die Socken in den Trockner stecken = put the socks into the dryer

You might also hear tun in casual speech:

• die Socken in den Trockner tun

But stecken sounds very appropriate here because the socks are being put into the machine.

By contrast:

• legen = lay something horizontally
• stellen = stand something upright
• setzen = set something into a sitting position / place in certain contexts

So stecken is the most natural verb in this sentence.

In everyday context, yes. Der Trockner usually means a clothes dryer.

Because the sentence also mentions socks and a drying rack, the meaning is very clear.

A Wäscheständer is a rack used for air-drying clothes indoors or outdoors. In English, common translations are:

• drying rack
• clothes horse
• sometimes clothes rack in context

It is the thing you hang laundry on instead of using a dryer.

Yes. German often uses the simple present for both:

• actions happening now
• regular habits
• general routines

So:

• Nach dem Waschen stecke ich ... nicht in den Trockner ... can mean something like
• After washing, I don’t put the wet socks in the dryer ... or
• Whenever I’ve washed them, I don’t put them in the dryer ...

The present tense works naturally for habitual actions in German, just as it often does in English.

Yes. Because German word order is somewhat flexible, you can move some parts around as long as the verb stays in second position in a main clause.

For example:

• Ich stecke die nassen Socken nach dem Waschen nicht in den Trockner, sondern hänge sie lieber auf den Wäscheständer.

This means essentially the same thing. The original version puts a little more emphasis on after washing by placing it first.

It has two coordinated main clauses linked by sondern:

1. Nach dem Waschen stecke ich die nassen Socken nicht in den Trockner
2. sondern hänge sie lieber auf den Wäscheständer

So the pattern is basically:

• After washing, I do not do X, but rather I do Y.

This is a very common German structure for contrasting two alternatives.

In a normal main clause with a separable verb, the prefix usually goes to the end of its clause.

So:

• Ich hänge die Socken auf.
• Ich hänge sie auf den Wäscheständer auf.

In your sentence, the clause ends with the destination phrase, and then the prefix comes at the end:

• ... hänge sie lieber auf den Wäscheständer.

Actually, in this case auf den Wäscheständer hängen already contains auf as the preposition, and the verb form hänge here is from hängen, not necessarily requiring a second auf at the end the way aufhängen often would in simpler examples. In real German usage, etwas auf etwas hängen is idiomatic and very common. Learners often notice this because it looks similar to separable aufhängen, but the sentence works naturally as given.

Mostly yes, but German splits the idea a bit more carefully in some contexts.

You will often see:

• hängen = to hang / to be hanging
• aufhängen = to hang up
• etwas auf den Wäscheständer hängen = to hang something on the drying rack

So the general meaning is close to English, but the exact verb-preposition combinations are important to learn as German patterns.

A learner might spot these important ones:

• nach dem Waschen → dative after nach
• die nassen Socken → accusative direct object
• in den Trockner → accusative after in because of motion
• auf den Wäscheständer → accusative after auf because of motion

So this sentence is a good example of how German cases are often driven by prepositions and sentence roles.