Cuando termine de secar la ropa, la guardo en el armario para mantenerla ordenada.

When I finish drying the clothes, I store them in the closet to keep them organized.

Breakdown of Cuando termine de secar la ropa, la guardo en el armario para mantenerla ordenada.

• yo: I
• en: in
• de: of
• terminar: to finish
• cuando: when
• para: for
• la ropa: the clothes
• secar: to dry
• guardar: to store
• el armario: the closet
• mantener: to keep
• ordenado: organized

Questions & Answers about Cuando termine de secar la ropa, la guardo en el armario para mantenerla ordenada.

Why is termine used here instead of termino in "Cuando termine de secar la ropa..."?

Termine is the present subjunctive form. Spanish often uses the present subjunctive after a time conjunction like cuando when referring to a future event that hasn't happened yet (i.e., "When I finish drying the clothes" in the future).

Why do we say terminar de secar instead of simply terminar secar?

In Spanish, the verb terminar is frequently followed by the preposition de before an infinitive to express "to finish doing something." So terminar de secar literally means "to finish (the action of) drying."

Why is the direct object pronoun la used in la guardo when it refers to "the clothes"?

Although la ropa refers to "clothes" in a collective sense, in Spanish it’s a single, feminine noun. Because ropa is treated as feminine singular, we use the feminine singular direct object pronoun la to refer back to it.

What does mantenerla ordenada mean?

Literally, mantenerla ordenada means "to keep it tidy." Here, la again refers to the feminine singular noun ropa, and ordenada is a feminine singular adjective matching ropa.

Why does ordenada agree in gender and number with ropa, even though "clothes" is plural in English?

In Spanish, ropa is singular and feminine, even though it refers to multiple items of clothing in English. Consequently, any adjective describing ropa will match it as singular and feminine, so ordenada (feminine singular) is the correct form.