Minha avó sempre torce a roupa à mão porque acha a secadora barulhenta.

My grandmother always wrings out the clothes by hand because she finds the dryer noisy.

Breakdown of Minha avó sempre torce a roupa à mão porque acha a secadora barulhenta.

• minha: my
• porque: because
• sempre: always
• achar: to find

Questions & Answers about Minha avó sempre torce a roupa à mão porque acha a secadora barulhenta.

Why is it minha avó and not meu avó?

Because avó is a feminine noun meaning grandmother. In Portuguese, possessives agree with the noun they describe, so you use:

• minha avó = my grandmother
• meu avô = my grandfather

So minha matches the feminine noun avó.

What does torce mean here?

Here, torce comes from the verb torcer and means to wring or to twist clothes in order to remove water.

So torce a roupa à mão means something like:

• she wrings the clothes by hand
• she hand-wrings the laundry

This is a specific meaning of torcer. In other contexts, torcer can also mean:

• to twist
• to root for / cheer for a team

So context matters a lot.

Why does it say a roupa if the meaning is about clothes or laundry in general?