Breakdown of Metto i vestiti nell’asciugatrice dopo la lavatrice.
io
I
mettere
to put
in
in
dopo
after
la lavatrice
the washing machine
l'asciugatrice
the dryer
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Questions & Answers about Metto i vestiti nell’asciugatrice dopo la lavatrice.
What does Metto mean, and what tense is it?
Metto is the first-person singular present indicative of mettere (“to put”). It literally means “I put” or “I am putting.” In this sentence it expresses a habitual or immediate action: “I put the clothes….”
Why is vestiti plural and preceded by i?
Vestiti means “clothes,” which in Italian is always plural when referring to garments collectively. The definite article for plural masculine nouns is i, so i vestiti = “the clothes.”
What’s the difference between vestiti, panni, and abbigliamento?
- Vestiti: individual pieces of clothing (shirts, pants, dresses).
- Panni: can mean “laundry” or “cloths/rags”; less specific for wearable items.
- Abbigliamento: a general, uncountable term for “clothing” or “apparel.”
Why is it nell’asciugatrice instead of in la asciugatrice?
Italian uses preposizioni articolate, which fuse a preposition with an article. Here you have:
- in
- l’ (the elided form of la before a vowel) = nell’
So nell’asciugatrice means “in the dryer.”
- l’ (the elided form of la before a vowel) = nell’
What exactly is an asciugatrice, and is there another word for “dryer”?
Asciugatrice is the standard Italian term for a clothes dryer. A synonym is asciugabiancheria, though it’s less common. A combined washer-dryer is called a lavasciuga.
Why do we say dopo la lavatrice instead of “after washing the clothes”?
With dopo you can follow a noun phrase, so dopo la lavatrice literally means “after the wash (cycle).” If you want to focus on the action, you can use a verb clause:
- dopo aver lavato i vestiti = “after having washed the clothes.”
Can I replace dopo la lavatrice with dopo aver lavato i vestiti?
Yes. Both are correct:
- Metto i vestiti nell’asciugatrice dopo la lavatrice.
- Metto i vestiti nell’asciugatrice dopo aver lavato i vestiti.
The first is shorter; the second explicitly states the washing action.
Is the word order fixed, or could I say Dopo la lavatrice metto i vestiti nell’asciugatrice?
Italian word order is flexible. Starting with Dopo la lavatrice is perfectly fine and often sounds more natural:
- Dopo la lavatrice, metto i vestiti nell’asciugatrice.
Why do we say la lavatrice? What gender is that noun?
Lavatrice ends in -ice and is feminine (all nouns ending in –trice are usually feminine). The singular feminine article is la, hence la lavatrice. In plural it becomes le lavatrici.