{"id":1103,"date":"2020-07-18T09:17:04","date_gmt":"2020-07-18T09:17:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/latinamericanspanishcafe.com\/?p=1103"},"modified":"2020-07-18T09:17:05","modified_gmt":"2020-07-18T09:17:05","slug":"how-to-use-lo-in-spanish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinamericanspanishcafe.com\/how-to-use-lo-in-spanish\/","title":{"rendered":"How to use lo in Spanish"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Most people learning Spanish quickly realize that some Spanish words pop up a lot. The tricky part for language students is knowing how to use important words that mean different things in different contexts. Such is the case of our little friend lo<\/em> (pronounced like the \u2018lo\u2019 in \u2018lock\u2019). Now you might say: \u201cbut lo<\/em> simply means \u2018it\u2019, right?\u201d Well, it can mean \u2018it\u2019, as a direct object pronoun, but it is also used in several other ways, all of which are important and incredibly prevalent. So, keep reading to get the lo<\/em>wdown on lo<\/em>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lo<\/em> as a direct object pronoun<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Alright, so let\u2019s start by showing you how lo<\/em> is used as a direct object pronoun<\/strong>. Let’s translate that from grammar-speak into something more digestible: “lo” is used to mean it<\/strong> or him<\/strong> when referring to an object or person previously mentioned or implied. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s dive straight into some examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spanish<\/strong><\/th>English<\/strong><\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Ay no, \u00a1me olvid\u00e9 mi celular! Creo que lo<\/strong> dej\u00e9 en la mesa.<\/td>Oh no, I forgot my cellphone! I think I left it<\/strong> on the table.<\/td><\/tr>
Tu hermano est\u00e1 en tu casa, \u00bfno cierto? Lo<\/strong> vi entrar hace un ratito.<\/td>Your brother is in your house, right? I saw him<\/strong> go in a little while ago.<\/td><\/tr>
\u00c9l no lo<\/strong> quiere limpiar. \/ \u00c9l no quiere limpiarlo<\/strong>.<\/td>He doesn\u2019t want to clean it<\/strong>.<\/td><\/tr>
\u00a1Lev\u00e1ntalo<\/strong>!<\/td>Pick it<\/strong> up!<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

First of all, we\u2019re not going to embark on a lengthy explanation of how object pronouns work in the Spanish language, because that deserves its own post. The important thing to remember is when you\u2019re referring back to an object (it) or male person in the singular (him) that is not the subject of the sentence<\/em>, you have to use lo<\/em>. This means that a sentence like \u201cit has air-conditioning\u201d would not be \u201clo tiene aire acondicionado\u201d. No way, Jos\u00e9! The correct way to say this is \u201ctiene aire condicionado\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“lo” is used to mean it<\/strong> or him<\/strong> when referring to an object or person previously mentioned or implied.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Please note that Spanish speakers tend to use lo<\/em> a bit more often as a direct object pronoun than English speakers. There are phrases in English where the word \u201cit\u201d is implied but not actually said. However, in Spanish, the word can\u2019t be omitted. A good example of this is the common phrase: (yo) lo<\/em> s\u00e9. In English, this would be: \u201cI know\u201d. You wouldn\u2019t generally say \u201cI know it\u201d, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please note<\/strong>: the word lo<\/em> is almost always placed before the verb (lo<\/em> vi), though with infinitives or gerunds they can also be placed right after the verb without any space in between (no quiere limpiarlo). When the verb is a command, it always has to be added straight onto the verb (lev\u00e1ntalo).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exercise:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We learn best by doing, so here\u2019s a quick exercise for you to practice with lo<\/em> as a direct object pronoun. We\u2019ve given you the words to create a Spanish sentence with lo<\/em> (along with the English translation) and all you have to do is put them in the right order. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Answers are found at the bottom of the article. No cheating, \u00a1por favor!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spanish words to use<\/strong><\/th>Spanish sentence<\/strong><\/th>English translation<\/strong><\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Favor \/ lo \/ puedes \/ preguntar \/ se \/ por<\/td> <\/td>Can you please ask him?<\/td><\/tr>
Adri\u00e1n \/ lo \/ ya \/ limpi\u00f3<\/td> <\/td>Adri\u00e1n already finished it.<\/td><\/tr>
Llevado \/ los empleados \/ lo \/ otra habitaci\u00f3n \/ la \/ han \/ a<\/td> <\/td>The employees have taken it to the other room.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Lo<\/em> que<\/em> and lo cual<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

These two ways of using lo are also very common. Lo que<\/em> more or less translates to \u201cthe thing that\/what\u201d and lo cual<\/em> is used similarly to \u201cwhich\u201d in sentence clauses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s jump straight to some examples to understand what they mean with context.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spanish<\/strong><\/th>English<\/strong><\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Lo que<\/strong> quiero decirte, es que te amo.<\/td>What\/the thing that<\/strong> I want to tell you, is that I love you.<\/td><\/tr>
Lo que<\/strong> tiene que hacer el gobierno es aumentar la inversi\u00f3n en la educaci\u00f3n.<\/td>What\/the thing that<\/strong> the government has to do is increase investment in education.<\/td><\/tr>
Brayan lleg\u00f3 tarde a mi fiesta, lo cual<\/strong> me molest\u00f3 mucho.<\/td>Brayan arrived late to my party, which<\/strong> annoyed me a lot.<\/td><\/tr>
Sus padres ancianos ten\u00edan que subir muchas gradas, lo cual<\/strong> les cans\u00f3 mucho.<\/td>His elderly parents had to go up many steps, which<\/strong> made them very tired.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Your turn to practice now! You\u2019ll hear the phrase \u201cLo que pasa es que..\u201d all over Latin America preceding an excuse for why someone did (or didn\u2019t) do something. So in the next exercise you get to practice making excuses! You never know, they could come in handy one day\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What you didn\u2019t do<\/strong><\/th>Your excuse<\/strong><\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
\u00a1Oye! \u00bfPor qu\u00e9 no lavaste los platos?<\/td>Lo que pasa es que\u2026 me llamaron para hacer un trabajo urgente!<\/td><\/tr>
\u00bfD\u00f3nde est\u00e1n las galletas que dej\u00e9 aqu\u00ed?<\/td>Lo que pasa es que\u2026<\/td><\/tr>
\u00bfPor qu\u00e9 llegaste dos horas tarde a nuestra reuni\u00f3n?<\/td>Lo que pasa es que\u2026<\/td><\/tr>
\u00a1Dejaste toda tu ropa tirada en el piso!<\/td>Lo que pasa es que\u2026<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Lo<\/em> as a definite article (Lo plus an adjective)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Lo bueno, lo malo, lo incre\u00edble, lo terrible;<\/em> all of these are expressions used incredibly frequently in Spanish. Grammatically, this is where lo is used as a neuter definite article<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s helpful again to think about lo as if it meant \u201cthe thing that\u201d, but this time with an adjective. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lo bueno de <\/em><\/strong>comer sano es que te enfermas poco<\/em> means: the good thing about eating healthily is that you get sick less.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lo mejor<\/em><\/strong> de este departamento es la vista<\/em> means: the best thing<\/strong> about this apartment is the view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some more examples and a couple of sentences for you to translate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spanish<\/strong><\/th>English<\/strong><\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Lo interesante<\/strong> del trabajo de Angie es que viaja mucho.<\/td>The interesting thing about Angie\u2019s job is that she travels a lot.<\/td><\/tr>
\u00a1Lo ch\u00e9vere<\/strong> de vivir con \u00e9l es que cocina muy rico!<\/td>The cool thing<\/strong> about living with him is that he cooks deliciously!<\/td><\/tr>
(Your translation)<\/em><\/td>The important thing is that the baby was born healthy.<\/td><\/tr>
(Your translation)<\/em><\/td>The best thing about my (male) cousin is his broad literature knowledge.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Common expressions containing lo<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To conclude, here are some common expressions that have lo<\/em> in them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spanish<\/strong><\/th>English<\/strong><\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Lo<\/strong> siento.  <\/td>I\u2019m sorry (about it<\/strong>).<\/td><\/tr>
A: <\/strong>Ese libro es muy interesante. <\/strong>B: S\u00ed, lo<\/strong> es!<\/td>A: That book is very interesting. B: Yes, it<\/strong> is!<\/td><\/tr>
Sobre lo<\/strong> de ayer\u2026<\/td>About (that thing<\/strong>) yesterday..<\/td><\/tr>
Es lo<\/strong> que hay.<\/td>It is what it<\/strong> is.<\/td><\/tr>
Por lo<\/strong> tanto<\/td>Therefore<\/td><\/tr>
Lo<\/strong> mismo<\/td>The same<\/td><\/tr>
En lo<\/strong> referente a<\/td>In referring to (the thing)..<\/td><\/tr>
Nadie nos quita lo <\/strong>bailado.<\/td>Nobody takes away that which<\/strong> we danced. (expression meaning: the fun you\u2019ve had can\u2019t be ruined, whatever happened afterwards)<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We hope this has helped you understand the main ways lo<\/em> is used in Spanish a bit better. Keep practicing, and just remember: that tiny word lo<\/em> is your friend, not your foe! \u00a1Nos vemos pronto chiquillos!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Answers to exercises:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exercise 1:<\/em><\/strong> \u00bfPuedes pregunt\u00e1rselo por favor? \/ (Or: \u00bfSe lo puedes preguntar, por favor?)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ya lo termin\u00f3 Adri\u00e1n.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Los empleados lo han llevado a la otra habitaci\u00f3n.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exercise 2:<\/em><\/strong> Answer freely.. remember to be creative!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exercise 3:<\/em><\/strong> Lo importante es que el beb\u00e9 naci\u00f3 sano. \/ Lo mejor de mi primo es su amplio conocimiento de la literatura.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"How<\/figure><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Most people learning Spanish quickly realize that some Spanish words pop up a lot. The tricky part for language students is knowing how to use important words that mean different things in different contexts. Such is the case of our little friend lo (pronounced like the \u2018lo\u2019 in \u2018lock\u2019). Now you might say: \u201cbut lo […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1117,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"How to use lo in Spanish","_seopress_titles_desc":"Get the fast-track on How To Use 'lo' In Spanish. Learn how to use this versatile little word like a native speaker. Includes examples & exercises","_seopress_robots_index":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[68],"tags":[],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/latinamericanspanishcafe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/use-of-the-word-lo-in-spanish-example.jpg",1200,800,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/latinamericanspanishcafe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/use-of-the-word-lo-in-spanish-example-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/latinamericanspanishcafe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/use-of-the-word-lo-in-spanish-example-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/latinamericanspanishcafe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/use-of-the-word-lo-in-spanish-example-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/latinamericanspanishcafe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/use-of-the-word-lo-in-spanish-example-1024x683.jpg",1024,683,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/latinamericanspanishcafe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/use-of-the-word-lo-in-spanish-example.jpg",1200,800,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/latinamericanspanishcafe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/use-of-the-word-lo-in-spanish-example.jpg",1200,800,false],"single-featured-image":["https:\/\/latinamericanspanishcafe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/use-of-the-word-lo-in-spanish-example-1200x385.jpg",1200,385,true],"blog-featured-image":["https:\/\/latinamericanspanishcafe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/use-of-the-word-lo-in-spanish-example-680x290.jpg",680,290,true],"home-featured":["https:\/\/latinamericanspanishcafe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/use-of-the-word-lo-in-spanish-example-380x570.jpg",380,570,true],"gb-block-post-grid-landscape":["https:\/\/latinamericanspanishcafe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/use-of-the-word-lo-in-spanish-example.jpg",600,400,false],"gb-block-post-grid-square":["https:\/\/latinamericanspanishcafe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/use-of-the-word-lo-in-spanish-example.jpg",600,400,false]},"post_excerpt_stackable":"

Most people learning Spanish quickly realize that some Spanish words pop up a lot. The tricky part for language students is knowing how to use important words that mean different things in different contexts. Such is the case of our little friend lo (pronounced like the \u2018lo\u2019 in \u2018lock\u2019). Now you might say: \u201cbut lo simply means \u2018it\u2019, right?\u201d Well, it can mean \u2018it\u2019, as a direct object pronoun, but it is also used in several other ways, all of which are important and incredibly prevalent. So, keep reading to get the lowdown on lo! Lo as a direct object…<\/p>\n","category_list":"Grammar<\/a>","author_info":{"display_name":"Keith","author_link":"https:\/\/latinamericanspanishcafe.com\/author\/s83cw\/"},"comments_num":"0 comments","featured_image_urls_v2":{"full":["https:\/\/latinamericanspanishcafe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/use-of-the-word-lo-in-spanish-example.jpg",1200,800,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/latinamericanspanishcafe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/use-of-the-word-lo-in-spanish-example-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/latinamericanspanishcafe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/use-of-the-word-lo-in-spanish-example-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/latinamericanspanishcafe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/use-of-the-word-lo-in-spanish-example-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/latinamericanspanishcafe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/use-of-the-word-lo-in-spanish-example-1024x683.jpg",1024,683,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/latinamericanspanishcafe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/use-of-the-word-lo-in-spanish-example.jpg",1200,800,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/latinamericanspanishcafe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/use-of-the-word-lo-in-spanish-example.jpg",1200,800,false],"single-featured-image":["https:\/\/latinamericanspanishcafe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/use-of-the-word-lo-in-spanish-example-1200x385.jpg",1200,385,true],"blog-featured-image":["https:\/\/latinamericanspanishcafe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/use-of-the-word-lo-in-spanish-example-680x290.jpg",680,290,true],"home-featured":["https:\/\/latinamericanspanishcafe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/use-of-the-word-lo-in-spanish-example-380x570.jpg",380,570,true],"gb-block-post-grid-landscape":["https:\/\/latinamericanspanishcafe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/use-of-the-word-lo-in-spanish-example.jpg",600,400,false],"gb-block-post-grid-square":["https:\/\/latinamericanspanishcafe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/use-of-the-word-lo-in-spanish-example.jpg",600,400,false]},"post_excerpt_stackable_v2":"

Most people learning Spanish quickly realize that some Spanish words pop up a lot. The tricky part for language students is knowing how to use important words that mean different things in different contexts. Such is the case of our little friend lo (pronounced like the \u2018lo\u2019 in \u2018lock\u2019). Now you might say: \u201cbut lo simply means \u2018it\u2019, right?\u201d Well, it can mean \u2018it\u2019, as a direct object pronoun, but it is also used in several other ways, all of which are important and incredibly prevalent. So, keep reading to get the lowdown on lo! Lo as a direct object…<\/p>\n","category_list_v2":"Grammar<\/a>","author_info_v2":{"name":"Keith","url":"https:\/\/latinamericanspanishcafe.com\/author\/s83cw\/"},"comments_num_v2":"0 comments","featured_image_src":"https:\/\/latinamericanspanishcafe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/use-of-the-word-lo-in-spanish-example.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/latinamericanspanishcafe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/use-of-the-word-lo-in-spanish-example.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinamericanspanishcafe.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1103"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinamericanspanishcafe.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinamericanspanishcafe.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericanspanishcafe.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericanspanishcafe.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1103"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericanspanishcafe.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1103\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericanspanishcafe.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinamericanspanishcafe.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericanspanishcafe.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericanspanishcafe.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}