Seco la ropa al aire.

the clothes

Breakdown of Seco la ropa al aire.

• secar al aire: to air-dry

Questions & Answers about Seco la ropa al aire.

Is seco a verb here, or is it the adjective dry?

Here, seco is a verb: I dry.

It comes from secar = to dry.

So:

• seco la ropa = I dry the clothes / I dry the laundry
• está seco = it is dry

A quick clue is that seco is followed by la ropa, so it is acting like a verb with a direct object.

If a woman says this sentence, does she still say seco?

Yes. A woman still says seco here.

That is because seco in this sentence is a verb form, not an adjective. Verb endings do not change for the speaker’s gender.

So both a man and a woman say:

• Seco la ropa al aire.

But with an adjective, gender would change:

• Estoy seco if a man says I am dry
• Estoy seca if a woman says I am dry

Why is there no yo?

Spanish often leaves out subject pronouns because the verb ending already tells you who the subject is.

• seco = I dry

So yo seco la ropa al aire and seco la ropa al aire both mean the same thing.

Adding yo usually gives emphasis or contrast, for example:

• Yo seco la ropa al aire, pero mi vecino usa secadora.