clean the house

Meaning

To remove dirt, dust, and clutter from one's home. In relationships and shared living spaces, it is an essential daily chore that partners or family members often divide or do together.

Examples

• We always clean the house together on Saturday mornings.

  We always clean the house together on Saturday mornings.

• Can you help me clean the house before the guests arrive?

  Can you help me clean the house before the guests arrive?

• My roommate and I take turns to clean the house.

  My roommate and I take turns to clean the house.

• They spent the whole afternoon cleaning the house from top to bottom.

  They spent the whole afternoon cleaning the house from top to bottom.

• I like to clean the house while listening to my favorite podcast.

  I like to clean the house while listening to my favorite podcast.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ We need to make the house clean this weekend.

  ✓ We need to clean the house this weekend.

  While 'make the house clean' is grammatically possible, 'clean the house' is the standard, natural collocation.

• ✗ I clean house every Friday.

  ✓ I clean the house every Friday.

  In everyday conversation, we usually use the definite article 'the' when talking about cleaning our own home.

Related Expressions

Practice

• If you wash the dishes, I will ___.

  💡 remove dirt and tidy up the rooms

  Show answer

  clean the house

• My parents are coming, so we must ___ quickly.

  💡 make the living space neat and tidy

  Show answer

  clean the house