Mi hermana usa la aspiradora en el salón y yo dejo los platos junto al fregadero.

Mi hermana is the normal, everyday way to say my sister in Spanish.

Spanish usually puts the short possessive before the noun:

• mi hermana = my sister
• tu casa = your house
• su coche = his/her car

The longer form, like la hermana mía, exists, but it is much less common here and usually sounds more emphatic, emotional, or stylistically marked.

So in a neutral sentence, mi hermana is exactly what you would expect.

It literally means uses the vacuum cleaner, but in natural English the idea is often simply vacuums.

In Spanish, usar la aspiradora is understandable and correct. A very common alternative is:

• pasar la aspiradora = to vacuum

So these are close in meaning:

• Mi hermana usa la aspiradora
• Mi hermana pasa la aspiradora

Both suggest that she is vacuuming.

Spanish uses articles more often than English does.

Here, la aspiradora means the vacuum cleaner, and Spanish often includes the definite article where English might or might not.

Also, aspiradora is a feminine noun, so it takes la:

• la aspiradora
• la mesa
• la casa

The article agrees in gender and number with the noun.

In Spain, el salón usually means the living room or lounge.

So:

• en el salón = in the living room

It does not usually mean just any room.
A general word for room is habitación or sometimes cuarto, depending on context.

For Spain specifically, translating salón as living room is the best choice here.

Because Spanish normally uses the article with this kind of noun.

So you say:

• en el salón = in the living room
• en la cocina = in the kitchen
• en el baño = in the bathroom

Leaving out the article would sound ungrammatical in normal Spanish.

Yes, it could say y dejo.

Spanish often drops subject pronouns because the verb ending already tells you who the subject is:

• dejo = I leave

So:

• y yo dejo los platos...
• y dejo los platos...

Both are possible.

Here, yo is probably included for contrast or clarity:

• Mi hermana does one thing, yo do another.

So yo adds a slight emphasis, like and I.

Here, dejar means to leave or to put down and leave somewhere.

So dejo los platos junto al fregadero means something like:

• I leave the dishes next to the sink
• I put the dishes down next to the sink

It is not exactly the same as wash. It means the dishes are being left there, probably to be washed later.

Spanish often uses the definite article where English might use no article.

So los platos literally means the dishes/plates, but in natural English you might simply say dishes.

Spanish likes the article when referring to a known set of things or things understood from context:

• Lavo los platos = I wash the dishes
• Dejo los platos = I leave the dishes

This is very normal.

Junto al means next to, by, or beside.

So:

• junto al fregadero = next to the sink

You may also see:

• junto a la mesa = next to the table
• junto al coche = next to the car

It is a very common way to express physical closeness.

Because a + el contracts to al.

So:

• a + el = al

Examples:

• junto al fregadero = next to the sink
• voy al mercado = I’m going to the market

This contraction is mandatory with a + el.
The main exception is when el is part of a proper name, such as a El Escorial.

El fregadero is the kitchen sink.

It is not the same as lavabo in most contexts. In Spain:

• fregadero = kitchen sink
• lavabo = washbasin / bathroom sink, or sometimes the bathroom itself depending on context

So in this sentence, fregadero is the correct word because it refers to where dishes are left.

They are in the simple present because the sentence is describing a normal action or situation.

• usa = she uses
• dejo = I leave

In Spanish, the present tense can describe:

1. habitual actions

   • Mi hermana usa la aspiradora... = My sister vacuums / uses the vacuum cleaner

2. what is happening now, depending on context

Without extra context, many learners would understand this as a general or habitual statement.

The endings show who is doing the action.

• usa comes from usar and is the él/ella/usted form:

  • mi hermana usa = my sister uses

• dejo comes from dejar and is the yo form:

  • yo dejo = I leave

These are regular present tense forms:

For -ar verbs like usar and dejar:

• yo uso / dejo
• tú usas / dejas
• él/ella/usted usa / deja
• nosotros usamos / dejamos
• vosotros usáis / dejáis
• ellos/ellas/ustedes usan / dejan

So the endings tell you the subject even when the pronoun is omitted.

Because in Spanish, a comma before y is usually not used in a simple sentence like this.

So this is normal:

• Mi hermana usa la aspiradora en el salón y yo dejo los platos junto al fregadero.

Even though English sometimes uses a comma before and, Spanish generally avoids it unless there is a special reason, such as a parenthetical phrase, a break in the sentence, or to avoid confusion.

Yes, it sounds very natural for Spain, especially because of el salón for living room.

Other parts of the Spanish-speaking world may prefer slightly different vocabulary in some cases, but the sentence is widely understandable.

For example:

• salón is especially common in Spain for living room
• fregadero is also standard Spanish
• aspiradora is widely understood

So for a learner focusing on Spanish from Spain, this sentence fits well.