Using the shared laundry room fairly | Learn Spanish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Todas las lavadoras están llenas otra vez.

   All the washing machines are full again.

   Todas

   all

   lavadoras

   washing machines

   están

   are

   llenas

   full

   otra vez

   again

   More detail

   Todas means “all” here and is the feminine plural form. It agrees with the plural feminine noun lavadoras; the masculine plural counterpart is todos. This form says that the whole relevant set is included, not that there are a particular number of machines. lavadoras means “washing machines.” Its singular form is lavadora, and its plural adds -s. The feminine form is part of the noun’s grammatical form; it does not identify who owns the machines. están is the third-person plural present form of estar, “to be.” Spanish uses estar with a temporary state or condition, such as Las puertas están abiertas — “The doors are open.” Here it agrees with plural lavadoras. llenas means “full” in the feminine plural form of the adjective lleno. The ending agrees with lavadoras: llena is feminine singular, and llenos is masculine plural. With estar, lleno describes the machines’ current condition. otra vez is a reusable expression meaning “again.” It marks a repeated situation: La máquina funciona otra vez — “The machine works again.” Together, Todas las lavadoras identifies the complete set of washing machines, while están llenas describes their current state. otra vez says that this state has happened again. The complete meaning is: “All the washing machines are full again.”

2. Mira el horario y comprueba cuándo termina la próxima carga.

   Check the schedule and see when the next load finishes.

   Mira

   Check

   el horario

   the schedule

   comprueba

   check

   cuándo

   when

   termina

   finishes

   próxima

   next

   carga

   load

   More detail

   Mira is the affirmative command form of mirar for one person addressed as tú. It means “look” or, in this context, “check.” A reusable pattern is Mira + noun: Mira la pantalla. — “Check the screen.” el horario means “the schedule” or “timetable.” Horario is a masculine noun, so the article here is el; the noun itself names a timetable or schedule, not the activity being scheduled. comprueba is another affirmative tú command, this time from comprobar, “to check” or “verify.” Thus Mira ... y comprueba ... gives two coordinated instructions: look at something and verify something. Example: Comprueba la puerta. — “Check the door.” cuándo means “when” in a question. The accent mark distinguishes this interrogative form from cuando, which commonly introduces a time clause meaning “when” without asking for the time. Here cuándo introduces the embedded question about the finishing time: comprueba cuándo ... — “check when ...”. termina is the present-tense third-person singular form of terminar, “to finish” or “to end.” In this sentence, the understood subject is la próxima carga, so the verb is singular. Compare termina — “finishes/is finishing” with terminan — “finish,” used with a plural subject. Example: La reunión termina a las cinco. — “The meeting ends at five.” próxima is the feminine singular form of the adjective próximo, meaning “next” here. It matches carga, a feminine singular noun. The adjective identifies the load as the one coming next in the relevant sequence; it does not itself express a numerical count. The masculine form is próximo, and the plural forms are próximos and próximas. carga is a feminine noun meaning “load.” In this utterance, together with the supplied translation and laundry context, it refers to the next laundry load. The same noun can refer to other kinds of loads in other contexts, but that broader meaning is not needed here. Example: La carga termina pronto. — “The load finishes soon.” Together, Mira el horario means “Check the schedule,” and comprueba cuándo termina la próxima carga means “check when the next load finishes.” The full utterance is therefore: “Check the schedule and see when the next load finishes.”

3. Una debería terminar pronto, pero la persona que la puso no está aquí.

   One should be done soon, but the person who started it isn't around.

   Una

   one

   debería

   should

   terminar

   finish

   pronto

   soon

   pero

   but

   persona

   person

   la

   it

   puso

   started

   no está aquí

   isn't here

   More detail

   Una is a feminine singular indefinite pronoun here: “one” or “one [feminine thing].” The surrounding context supports a feminine singular load as the item being discussed. Spanish uses uno/una when referring to an unspecified member or item; the form agrees with the referent’s gender. debería is the conditional form of deber for third-person singular. Here it expresses an expectation or recommendation, “should,” rather than a firm statement of certainty. Deber + infinitive is a reusable pattern: debería llegar = “should arrive.” terminar is the infinitive “to finish” or “to be finished.” After debería, Spanish keeps the next verb in the infinitive: debería terminar. pronto means “soon,” referring here to the expected time of completion. It can be placed after the verb phrase, as in terminar pronto. pero introduces a contrast: “but.” It connects the expectation that the item will be finished soon with information about the person who started it. persona means “person.” It is a feminine grammatical noun, so related forms include una persona and la persona; this grammatical gender does not by itself identify the person’s real-world gender. La persona que... is a useful pattern meaning “the person who...”. la is a feminine singular direct-object pronoun, “it” here. It refers back to the feminine singular item being discussed, supported by the earlier context’s carga (“load”). Spanish object pronouns agree with the noun they replace: lo for a masculine singular object, la for a feminine singular object, and los/las for plural objects. puso is the third-person singular preterite of poner, whose basic meaning is “to put” or “to place.” In this sentence, the fixed translation gives the intended contextual sense “started,” as in starting a load. The preterite presents that action as completed: la puso = “started it.” no está aquí means “isn’t here.” Está is the third-person singular present form of estar, used here for someone’s location or presence; no negates it, and aquí means “here.” Compare está allí = “is there.” Together, Una debería terminar pronto says that one feminine item should be finished soon. pero la persona que la puso identifies the person who started that item, and no está aquí says that this person is not here. The complete meaning is: “One should be done soon, but the person who started it isn’t around.”

4. Dale unos minutos antes de mover su ropa.

   Give them a few minutes before moving their laundry.

   Dale

   give them

   minutos

   minutes

   antes de

   before

   mover

   move

   ropa

   laundry

   More detail

   Dale is the affirmative tú command of dar (“give”) with the indirect-object clitic le attached: da + le → dale. In this sentence, the fixed translation identifies the recipient as “them.” The form le itself does not show plural number. Example: Dale cinco minutos. — “Give them five minutes.” minutos means “minutes.” It is the plural of minuto; unos minutos means “a few minutes,” without stating an exact number. Unos agrees with the masculine plural noun minutos. antes de introduces something that happens later, and it is followed here by an infinitive: antes de + mover. Example: Espera antes de entrar. — “Wait before going in.” mover is the infinitive “to move.” After antes de, the infinitive presents the action without marking a separate subject. Here, the understood actor is the person being addressed by the command. Example: No muevas la caja todavía. — “Don’t move the box yet.” The related form muevas is a negative tú command, whereas mover is the infinitive used after antes de. The remaining words specify what is moved: su means “their” here, and ropa means “clothing” or “laundry.” Ropa is a feminine singular collective noun, even when it refers to multiple garments; it does not become plural merely because the garments are multiple. The fixed translation selects the possessive reading “their laundry.” Together, Dale unos minutos gives the instruction “Give them a few minutes.” antes de mover su ropa means “before moving their laundry.” The complete utterance is therefore: “Give them a few minutes before moving their laundry.”

5. ¿Cuánto tiempo es razonable esperar antes de moverla?

   How long is fair before I move it?

   ¿Cuánto tiempo

   How long

   es

   is

   razonable

   reasonable

   esperar

   to wait

   antes de

   before

   moverla

   move it

   More detail

   ¿Cuánto tiempo asks about a duration: “how long?” Cuánto is masculine singular here because it agrees with tiempo, a masculine singular noun. Compare ¿Cuánta paciencia...? (“How much patience...?”), where cuánta agrees with a feminine noun. Es is the present-tense third-person singular form of ser (“to be”). In es razonable esperar, Spanish presents the waiting action as a reasonable course of action; es is singular in this impersonal evaluative construction. The question asks how much time it is reasonable to wait, rather than stating that the word tiempo itself is the grammatical subject of es. Razonable means “reasonable” here, in the sense of acceptable or fair. It has the same singular form with masculine and feminine nouns: un tiempo razonable, una espera razonable; in the plural it becomes razonables. Esperar is the infinitive “to wait.” After an expression such as es razonable, an infinitive can name the action being evaluated: Es razonable esperar means “It is reasonable to wait.” Example: Es mejor esperar. — “It is better to wait.” Antes de introduces an action that occurs later than the waiting. Before another verb, it is followed by an infinitive: antes de salir (“before leaving”). Here it introduces moverla, so the order is waiting first and moving it afterward. Moverla consists of the infinitive mover (“to move”) plus the attached direct-object pronoun la. La is feminine singular; in this utterance, the fixed translation supports “it,” but does not explicitly name what la refers to. The infinitive does not itself show who performs the action; the fixed translation presents that actor as “I.” Compare moverlo for a masculine singular object and moverlas for feminine plural objects. Together, ¿Cuánto tiempo es razonable esperar antes de moverla? asks: “How long is it reasonable to wait before I move it?” The question asks for an appropriate duration of waiting and places moving the already-mentioned feminine-singular object after that waiting period.

6. Un breve margen de espera es suficiente si hay otras personas esperando.

   A short grace period is enough if other people are waiting.

   breve

   short

   margen

   margin; grace period

   espera

   waiting

   suficiente

   enough; sufficient

   hay

   there is; there are

   otras

   other

   personas

   people

   esperando

   waiting

   More detail

   breve means “short” here and describes margen. It is an adjective, so it agrees with the noun in gender and number: un margen breve, una espera breve, unos márgenes breves. The form breve is the singular form for both masculine and feminine nouns. margen is a noun meaning a margin or an allowed amount of time. In this sentence, margen de espera is the useful time expression “grace period” or “waiting allowance.” The following de espera specifies what kind of margin it is: a margin for waiting. The noun is masculine here, as shown by un. espera is a noun meaning “waiting.” It is related to the verb esperar, “to wait,” but it is not the verb form itself. The pattern margen de + noun can identify the purpose or type of a margin; for example, un margen de error means “a margin of error.” suficiente means “sufficient” or “enough.” It describes margen, so it is singular; its form is the same with masculine and feminine singular nouns: tiempo suficiente and paciencia suficiente. Its plural form is suficientes. In es suficiente, the verb es links the subject to this description. hay is the impersonal present form of haber, used to say that something exists or is present: “there is” or “there are.” It does not change to agree with the following noun: hay una persona and hay varias personas. Here it introduces the people who are waiting. otras means “other” and modifies personas. It is feminine plural because personas is feminine plural. The singular forms are otro and otra; the plural forms are otros and otras. Here, “other people” is the intended meaning, without specifying who those people are. personas means “people” or “persons.” It is the plural of persona, a grammatically feminine noun even when the people referred to are not all women. Thus the matching adjective or determiner can be feminine plural: otras personas. esperando means “waiting” in this clause. It is the gerund of esperar and presents the action as ongoing. With an explicit form of estar, Spanish commonly uses it in a progressive construction, as in Las personas están esperando (“The people are waiting”). After hay, as here, personas esperando identifies people who are currently waiting; a finite verb is not needed in this compact description. The opening Un is an indefinite article agreeing with singular masculine margen; it introduces an unspecified grace period, but the article itself does not by itself assert a numerical count. The structure Un breve margen de espera es suficiente means “A short grace period is enough.” The conditional clause si hay otras personas esperando adds the condition “if other people are waiting.” Together, the utterance says that a short waiting allowance is sufficient under that condition. This is a neutral, reusable way to describe whether an amount of time is adequate: X es suficiente si Y — “X is enough if Y.”

7. Pondré un recordatorio para volver en cuanto termine mi carga.

   I'll set a reminder so I come back as soon as my load is done.

   Pondré

   I’ll set

   recordatorio

   reminder

   volver

   return; come back

   en cuanto

   as soon as

   termine

   finishes

   carga

   load

   More detail

   Pondré is the first-person singular future of poner (“to set/put”): poner → pondré (“I will set”). The irregular stem pondr- and the written accent are part of this future form. Example: Pondré una alarma. — “I’ll set an alarm.” recordatorio is a masculine noun meaning “reminder.” It is related to recordar (“to remember”), but the noun itself names a reminder, not the act of remembering. Example: Necesito un recordatorio. — “I need a reminder.” volver is the infinitive “to return” or “to come back.” Here it follows para, giving the reusable pattern para + infinitive for a purpose: para volver = “in order to come back.” Example: Salgo para volver temprano. — “I’m leaving in order to come back early.” en cuanto is a conjunction meaning “as soon as.” It introduces the time condition for a future event. Spanish commonly uses the subjunctive in such a clause when the event is still pending: en cuanto termine = “as soon as it finishes.” termine is the present subjunctive form of terminar, “to finish.” In this sentence, mi carga is the grammatical subject, so the form is third-person singular. The future-oriented time clause, rather than a completed fact, supports the subjunctive. Spanish expresses the situation actively as “as soon as my load finishes,” while the fixed translation renders the result naturally as “as soon as my load is done.” Example: Te llamaré en cuanto termine la reunión. — “I’ll call you as soon as the meeting ends.” carga is a feminine noun meaning “load.” In this context, the fixed translation supports the sense of a load or workload that becomes finished. mi is a singular possessive determiner: it agrees with the noun in number, while it does not show the noun’s gender; its plural counterpart is mis. Example: Mi carga termina hoy. — “My load finishes today.” Together, Pondré un recordatorio means “I’ll set a reminder,” and para volver gives its purpose: “in order to come back.” The time clause en cuanto termine mi carga means “as soon as my load finishes,” naturally rendered in the fixed translation as “as soon as my load is done.” The whole utterance is therefore: “I’ll set a reminder so I come back as soon as my load is done.”

8. Así es más fácil pedir lo mismo a los demás.

   That makes it easier to ask the same of everyone else.

   Así

   that way

   más fácil

   easier

   pedir

   to ask for

   lo mismo

   the same thing

   a los demás

   to everyone else

   More detail

   Así means “that way” here: it points to a manner or arrangement understood from the context. It is an adverb, so it does not change for gender or number. Example: Hazlo así. — “Do it that way.” más fácil means “easier.” Fácil is the adjective; más fácil is its comparative form, built with más + adjective. Here, the comparison is with another way of carrying out the action. Example: Ahora es más fácil. — “Now it is easier.” pedir is the infinitive “to ask for” or “to request.” In this sentence it names the action made easier. A useful pattern is pedir algo a alguien: ask someone for something. Example: Quiero pedir ayuda a Ana. — “I want to ask Ana for help.” lo mismo means “the same thing” in this utterance. In this expression, lo is the neuter article used to turn the adjective phrase into a general noun-like expression; mismo appears in the masculine singular form, rather than agreeing with a stated masculine noun. Compare la misma idea — “the same idea,” where misma agrees with the feminine noun idea. a los demás identifies the people who receive the request: “everyone else.” Demás means “other” or “remaining” people here, and los marks the plural masculine form of this noun phrase. The preposition a introduces the person being asked in the pattern pedir algo a alguien. Together, Así es más fácil says “That makes it easier,” and pedir lo mismo a los demás says “to ask everyone else for the same thing.” The complete utterance is therefore: “That makes it easier to ask the same of everyone else.”

9. No puedo quejarme de la ropa abandonada si yo también dejo allí la mía.

   I can't complain about abandoned laundry if I leave mine there too.

   No puedo

   I can’t

   quejarme

   complain

   ropa

   clothing; laundry

   abandonada

   abandoned

   también

   too; as well

   dejo

   leave

   allí

   there

   la mía

   mine

   More detail

   No puedo combines no (“not”) with puedo, the first-person singular present of poder (“can; be able to”). Here it means “I can’t.” The form puedo identifies the speaker as the subject; the negative word comes before it. A reusable pattern is No puedo + infinitive: No puedo entrar = “I can’t enter.” quejarme is the first-person form of the pronominal infinitive quejarse (“to complain”), with the object/reflexive pronoun me attached. In this expression, quejarse de algo means “to complain about something,” so quejarme de means “to complain about.” The me refers to the speaker, matching the first person already expressed by puedo. The infinitive form is required after puedo: Puedo quejarme = “I can complain,” while No puedo quejarme = “I can’t complain.” ropa is a feminine singular noun meaning “clothing” or, in this context, “laundry.” The following adjective abandonada agrees with ropa in feminine singular form. The noun itself does not assert that there is a particular numeric count of garments; it presents clothing/laundry as a mass or general category. abandonada is the feminine singular form of abandonado, related to the verb abandonar (“to abandon; leave behind”). Here it describes the clothing as left behind or unattended. Compare the masculine singular form abandonado with a masculine singular noun; the ending agrees with the noun being described. también means “also” or “too.” It adds the speaker’s action as another relevant case; it does not replace or negate the earlier situation. In this sentence it modifies the later clause: the speaker also leaves clothing there. dejo is the first-person singular present of dejar (“to leave; let”). It means “I leave” here. The present form dejo matches the speaker, while the infinitive is dejar; for example, Dejo la llave aquí means “I leave the key here.” allí is a location word meaning “there,” pointing to a place understood from the situation. It does not itself identify the place by name. In the clause, it specifies where the speaker leaves the clothing. la mía means “mine” and refers to a feminine singular noun understood from context, here the speaker’s ropa. mía is the feminine singular possessive form, and la agrees with the omitted noun in gender and number. The possessive pronoun stands in for the noun, so la mía means “my one/my clothing,” naturally translated as “mine.” For comparison, a masculine singular referent uses el mío, while plural forms are los míos and las mías according to the referent’s gender and number. The conditional clause begins with si (“if”): si yo también dejo allí la mía means “if I also leave mine there.” Yo makes the subject explicit, and dejo supplies the first-person action. The pronoun la mía identifies the clothing as belonging to the speaker, while allí gives its location. The main clause No puedo quejarme de la ropa abandonada says that the speaker cannot complain about clothing left unattended. Together, the sentence means: “I can’t complain about abandoned laundry if I leave mine there too.”

10. La lavandería compartida funciona mejor cuando la gente controla cuánto duran los ciclos.

    Shared laundry goes more smoothly when people watch the cycle times.

    lavandería

    laundry room / laundry service

    compartida

    shared

    funciona

    works

    mejor

    better

    cuando

    when

    gente

    people

    controla

    watches / controls

    cuánto

    how long / how much time

    duran

    last

    ciclos

    cycles

    More detail

    lavandería means “laundry room” here. It is a feminine noun, so the article and agreeing adjective are feminine: la lavandería compartida. The word can also refer to a laundry service, but the shared facility is the intended meaning in this sentence. compartida means “shared” and agrees with lavandería in feminine singular. Its base form is the adjective compartido; the ending changes here because it describes a feminine singular noun. Example: un espacio compartido = “a shared space.” funciona is the third-person singular present form of funcionar, “to work” or “to function.” The singular form is required because the subject la lavandería is singular. Example: El sistema funciona bien. = “The system works well.” mejor means “better” in this sentence and modifies how the laundry facility functions. It is the comparative form related to bien (“well”), not an inflection of lavandería. The pattern funcionar mejor is reusable for saying that something works better: Aquí funciona mejor. = “It works better here.” cuando introduces a time condition: “when.” It connects the main statement with the situation in which it applies. Example: Funciona mejor cuando hay menos ruido. = “It works better when there is less noise.” gente means “people.” Although its meaning refers to multiple people, gente is grammatically singular in Spanish, so it takes the singular verb controla. Example: La gente espera. = “People wait.” controla is the third-person singular present form of controlar, “to monitor,” “keep track of,” or “control.” In this context, “keeps track of” is the most natural sense: people monitor the duration of the cycles. Example: Ella controla el tiempo. = “She keeps track of the time.” cuánto asks about an amount or duration and has an accent because it introduces an indirect question here. In cuánto duran los ciclos, it means “how long,” literally asking about the amount of time that the cycles last. The form agrees in number with tiempo when used as a noun modifier (cuánto tiempo), but in this sentence it is used in the duration question cuánto duran. duran is the third-person plural present form of durar, “to last.” It is plural because its subject is los ciclos, not gente. The pattern cuánto dura ... is used with a singular subject, while cuánto duran ... is used with a plural subject. Example: ¿Cuánto dura la película? = “How long does the film last?” ciclos means “cycles.” It is the plural of the masculine noun ciclo, so the phrase is los ciclos. Here it refers to the laundry cycles, and their duration is what people monitor. Example: Los ciclos son cortos. = “The cycles are short.” Together, La lavandería compartida is the subject, and funciona mejor says that it operates more effectively. cuando la gente controla cuánto duran los ciclos adds the condition: this happens when people keep track of how long the cycles last. The whole utterance means: “Shared laundry goes more smoothly when people watch the cycle times.”