Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): Después de lavar, meto la colada en la secadora o la cuelgo en el balcón. - After washing, I put the laundry in the dryer or hang it on the balcony.

Después de lavar, meto la colada en la secadora o la cuelgo en el balcón.

After washing, I put the laundry in the dryer or hang it on the balcony.

Breakdown of Después de lavar, meto la colada en la secadora o la cuelgo en el balcón.

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Questions & Answers about Después de lavar, meto la colada en la secadora o la cuelgo en el balcón.

Why is it Después de lavar and not Después lavar?

In Spanish, when después is followed by a verb in the infinitive, you normally need de:

Después de + infinitive → Después de lavar, voy a casa.
Después de + noun → Después de la cena, me ducho.

Without de, después works more like an adverb that stands on its own:

Después, lavo la colada. = Afterwards, I wash the laundry.

So:

✅ Después de lavar, meto la colada…
❌ Después lavar, meto la colada… (incorrect in standard Spanish)

Can I say Después de lavar la colada or Después de lavar la ropa instead of just Después de lavar?

Yes, you can, and it’s perfectly correct:

Después de lavar la colada, meto la colada en la secadora…
Después de lavar la ropa, meto la ropa en la secadora…

In the original sentence, the direct object is simply omitted because it’s obvious from context that you’re talking about the laundry:

Después de lavar (la colada / la ropa), meto la colada…

Spanish often drops elements that are understood from context, especially when they are repeated.

Why is it meto la colada and not pongo la colada? What’s the difference between meter and poner?

Both meter and poner can translate as to put, but:

meter literally means to put something into a container or enclosed space → there is an idea of inside.
- Meto la colada en la secadora. = I put the laundry into the dryer.
poner is more general: to put/place/put on.
- Pongo la colada en la lavadora. (also common)
- Pongo el libro en la mesa.

In Spain, for this specific action (putting laundry into a machine), meter is very natural and common because you are putting the clothes inside the dryer.

Why do we say la colada with the article la? Could we just say colada?

In Spanish, concrete countable nouns almost always need a definite or indefinite article unless they’re used in specific article‑less patterns.

Here you’re talking about a specific load of laundry: the laundry you’ve just washed. So:

✅ Meto la colada en la secadora.
(I put the laundry in the dryer.)
❌ Meto colada en la secadora. (sounds wrong/unnatural)

You could omit the article in some set expressions (e.g. headlines, lists, or special fixed phrases), but in normal sentences referring to a specific thing, you use la colada.

What exactly does colada mean here? Is this used in all Spanish‑speaking countries?

In Spain, la colada is the usual everyday word for “the laundry” (the load of clothes you wash):

Hago la colada los sábados. = I do the laundry on Saturdays.

In many parts of Latin America, colada is not commonly used with this meaning in everyday speech; people usually say la ropa instead:

Lavo la ropa. = I do the laundry / wash the clothes.

So:

Spain: hacer la colada (very common)
Latin America: lavar la ropa, poner la lavadora, etc.

The sentence you gave sounds specifically like Peninsular (Spain) usage.

Why is it meto la colada o la cuelgo? What does the la stand for and why is it repeated?

La is a direct object pronoun that replaces la colada:

la colada (feminine singular noun) → la (feminine singular pronoun)

The full structure is:

Meto la colada en la secadora o la cuelgo en el balcón.
= I put the laundry in the dryer or hang *it on the balcony.*

The pronoun la is needed before cuelgo because you’re not repeating the noun la colada; Spanish doesn’t usually omit the object entirely when it’s not expressed again as a noun.

You could also repeat the full noun:

Meto la colada en la secadora o cuelgo la colada en el balcón.

…but that sounds a bit heavy and repetitive, so native speakers naturally switch to the pronoun la.

Why is it cuelgo and not cuelo or colgo? How does colgar conjugate?

Colgar is an irregular stem‑changing verb (o → ue) in the present tense:

colgar → stem colg- → cuelg- in stressed forms.

Present indicative:

yo cuelgo
tú cuelgas
él/ella/usted cuelga
nosotros colgamos (no change)
vosotros colgáis (no change)
ellos/ellas/ustedes cuelgan

So yo cuelgo is the correct form for I hang.

Cuelo is from colar (to strain, to filter), a different verb.
Colgo does not exist in standard Spanish.

Could I say tiendo la colada instead of la cuelgo? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say tiendo la colada, and in Spain it’s very common:

Tender la colada / tender la ropa = to hang the laundry out to dry.

So you could say:

Después de lavar, tiendo la colada en el balcón.
Después de lavar, meto la colada en la secadora o la tiendo en el balcón.

Cuelgo la colada and tiendo la colada are very close in meaning here.
Nuance:

colgar = literally to hang something (from a hook, rope, hanger, etc.).
tender la ropa / la colada = specifically to hang clothes out (usually on a line or rack).

For laundry, tender la ropa / la colada is actually the most idiomatic in Spain, but colgar is also understandable and natural.

Why is the present tense (meto, cuelgo) used instead of something like “I am putting” in Spanish?

Spanish usually uses the simple present for:

Habits and routines
- Siempre meto la colada en la secadora. = I always put the laundry in the dryer.
General statements about what you usually do.

English often uses the present simple or present continuous for these, but Spanish strongly prefers the simple present here.

Después de lavar, meto la colada en la secadora o la cuelgo en el balcón.
= After washing, I put the laundry in the dryer or I hang it on the balcony.
(understood as a usual routine)

You would only use estoy metiendo / estoy colgando to emphasize what is happening right now, at this very moment.

Why is the preposition en used in both en la secadora and en el balcón? Could I use a or sobre instead?

En is the normal preposition for:

Location (in, on, at):
- en la secadora = in the dryer
- en el balcón = on the balcony
Movement resulting in that location, when the focus is the final place:
- Meto la colada en la secadora. = I put the laundry in the dryer.

Alternatives:

a usually indicates direction (to), not final location:
- Voy al balcón. = I go to the balcony.
- Llevo la ropa al balcón. = I take the clothes to the balcony.
sobre emphasizes on top of:
- Pongo el libro sobre la mesa. = on top of the table.

For laundry + dryer / hanging on a balcony, en is the natural, idiomatic choice.

What’s the difference between balcón and terraza in Spain? Would either work here?

Roughly:

balcón = a balcony that sticks out from the wall of a building, usually smaller, sometimes with a railing.
terraza = a terrace; can be larger, sometimes at roof level or as an outdoor area (like a patio or big balcony).

In everyday speech, people in Spain can be a bit loose and may use either depending on their home layout and personal usage:

Cuelgo la colada en el balcón.
Tiendo la ropa en la terraza.

Both are plausible; balcón sounds like a smaller projecting balcony, terraza often gives the idea of more space. The sentence with balcón is completely natural.

Could I say Después de haber lavado instead of Después de lavar? Is there any difference?

Yes, you can say:

Después de haber lavado, meto la colada…

Después de haber lavado uses the perfect infinitive (haber lavado), which emphasizes that the action is fully completed before the next one.

In practice:

Después de lavar, meto la colada…
Después de haber lavado, meto la colada…

Both are grammatical and mean almost the same. In everyday spoken Spanish, the simpler Después de lavar is more common and natural. Después de haber lavado can sound slightly more formal or written.

Why is there a comma after lavar? Is it necessary?

The comma marks the boundary between:

the introductory time clause: Después de lavar,
the main clause: meto la colada en la secadora o la cuelgo en el balcón.

In Spanish, when a clause that gives time, condition, etc. comes before the main clause, it’s common (and usually recommended) to put a comma:

Cuando llego a casa, ceno.
Después de trabajar, descanso.

You could technically omit the comma in very informal writing, but good style is:

✅ Después de lavar, meto la colada en la secadora o la cuelgo en el balcón.