[General] dry the clothes in the sun / sun-dry the clothes ...

Status
Not open for further replies.

maoyueh

Member
Joined
May 28, 2011
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
Taiwan
Current Location
Taiwan
Are the sentences below correct and natural? Thank you.

1. I took advantage of the good weather to dry my clothes and quilts in the sun.
2. I took advantage of the good weather to sun-dry my clothes and quilts.
3. I took advantage of the good weather to hang out my clothes and quilts to dry in the sun.
 

FreeToyInside

Member
Joined
May 3, 2012
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
China
Are the sentences below correct and natural? Thank you.

1. I took advantage of the good weather to dry my clothes and quilts in the sun.
2. I took advantage of the good weather to sun-dry my clothes and quilts.
3. I took advantage of the good weather to hang out my clothes and quilts to dry in the sun.

The second sentence is grammatically correct but sounds unnatural to my (American) ears. The first sentence sounds perfectly reasonable. The third sentence would be my choice for sounding the most natural, but only with a couple changes:

"I took advantange of the good weather to hang (or: and hung) my clothes and quilts out to dry." (When you hang your clothes out, it sounds redundant or unnecessary to me to say "in the sun.")

(not a teacher, just a language lover)
 

SoothingDave

VIP Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2009
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
Some say they "line dry" them.
 

bhaisahab

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Apr 12, 2008
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
England
Current Location
Ireland
1 and 3 are OK for me.
 

Barb_D

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 12, 2007
Member Type
Other
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
I wouldn't be sure what you meant by "air-dry." There's hot air in the dryer too.
 

maoyueh

Member
Joined
May 28, 2011
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
Taiwan
Current Location
Taiwan
I wouldn't be sure what you meant by "air-dry." There's hot air in the dryer too.

Is it OK to say "I am going to air-dry my clothes by the open window/in the veranda or porch, then? Thanks a lot.
 

Barb_D

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 12, 2007
Member Type
Other
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
I'm going to hang my clothes by the window to dry.
I'm going to set my clothes out on the porch to dry.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top