Lo in Spanish

How do you use Lo in Spanish?

When to use lo in Wikipedia“>Spanish

?. Lo is one of those words that doesn’t always have a clear definition — and it can function in at least three different ways, as a subject pronoun, object pronoun, or definite article. When you run across the word in a sentence and don’t know what it means, you often need to figure out first how it is being used.

Here, in rough order of how common they are, are the ways that lo can be used:

Using Lo as a Masculine Direct-Object Pronoun

As a direct object, lo can be translated as either “him” or “it.” The feminine equivalent is la.

¿Pablo? No lo vi. (Pablo? I didn’t see him.) El coche es muy caro. Quiero comprarlo. (The car is very expensive. I want to buy it.)

Dámelo. (Give it to me.) No creo que lo hayas conocido. (I don’t think you’ve met him.)

Note that in the above sentences where lo means “him,” referring to a person, it would be very common in some areas, particularly in Spain, to use le instead of lo. The use of le as a direct object pronoun is known as leísmo.

Using Lo as a Neuter Definite Article

The definite articles in Spanish, typically el and la when singular, are the equivalent of the English “the.” Lo can be used as a neuter definite article before an adjective to make an abstract noun. For example, lo importante can be translated as “the important thing,” “that which is important,” or “what is important.”

Lo bueno es que hemos sido más listos. (The good thing is that we have been more clever.) Lo barato sale caro. (What seems cheap ends up expensive.) Lo mejor es que me voy a casa. (The best thing is that I’m going home.) Lo mío es tuyo. (What is mine isyours.) El entrenador se especializa en lo imposible. (The coach specializes in the impossible.)

Lo as a Neuter Direct-Object Pronoun

Lo can be used as an object pronoun to refer to something abstract, to an unnamed activity or situation, or to a previous statement. Used in this way, lo is usually translated as “it,” sometimes as “that”:

No podemos hacerlo. (We can’t do it.) No lo comprendo. (I don’t understand that.) Mi religión no lo prohibe, pero cada vez que lo hago, le doy las gracias al animal por darme vida. (My religion doesn’t prohibit it, but every time I do it, I give thanks to the animal for giving me life.)

Using Lo With Ser and Estar

It is common when answering questions to use lo before the verbs for “to be” to refer to a preceding noun or adjective. When used in this way, lo has neither number nor gender.

¿Es nueva tu computadora?. —No lo es. (“Is your computer new?” “It isn’t.”) ¿Estaban felices? —Sí, lo estaban. (“Were they happy?” “Yes, they were.”)

Using Lo Que and Lo Cual

The phrases lo que and lo cual serve as relative pronouns usually meaning “that,” “what”, or “that which”:

La marihuana: Lo que los padres deben saber. (Marijuana: What parents ought to know.) Mis padres me daban todo lo que yo necesitaba. (My parents gave me everything that I needed.) No puedo decidir lo que es mejor. (I can’t decide what is better.) No todo lo que brilla es oro. (Not everything that shines is gold.)

Using Lo De

The phrase lo de can be translated differently depending on the context, butgenerally means something like “the matter concerning”:

Los senadores republicanos fueron informados sobre lo de la CIA. (The Republican senators were informed about the CIA matter.) Lo de que las niñas japonesas se perdieron no era una mentira. (The storyabout the Japanese girls getting lost wasn’t a lie.)

Lo de Castro es todo pretextos y mentiras según sus enemigos. (Castro’s way of doing things is all pretexts and lies, according to his enemies.)

Using Lo in Phrases

Phrases using lo, not necessarily in a way that seems intuitive, include:

a lo largo de, throughout a lo lejos, in the distance a lo loco, like crazy a lo mejor, probably lo sabe todo, he/she knows it all por lo general, generally por lo menos, at least por lo pronto, for now· por lo tanto, as a result por lo visto, apparently

Using Lo as an Indirect Object

In some regions, you may occasionally hear the use of lo as an indirect object instead of le. However, this practice, known as loísmo, is considered substandard and should be avoided by those learning the language.

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