Using con lo que + indicative for despite

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How to use "con lo que " in Spanish

In Spanish we can use the conjunction "con lo que" to express an obstacle to the main action in the main clause. This structure is followed by a tense in the indicative.

Let's see some examples:

No sé cómo no estás agotado con lo que corres.I am surprised you are not exhausted with all the running you do.

¿Vas a salir con lo que llueve?Are you going out despite all that rain?

Me sorprende que esté tan delgado con lo que come.I can't believe how thin he is given how much he eats.

Con lo que me ha costado este curso y ahora no es válido.After all the effort I made to do this course and now it turns out that it's not valid.

Notice how there is no literal translation in English so have to find different ways to express "con lo que" in English.

It is common to find a main clause that expresses some kind of surprise at the achievement of the action despite the objection, e.g "No puedo creer...", "No sé cómo...", "Me sorprende..." etc.

Important note:

You may also find "con lo que" followed by the subjunctive, but in this case the meaning of "con lo que" is more literal and does not convey an obstacle as in the case with the indicative. 

For example:

Puedes contribuir con lo que tengas. No hay un mínimo o un máximo.
You can contribute with whatever you have. There is no minimum or maximum.

Yo estaré de acuerdo con lo que vosotros decidáis.
I will go along with whatever you decide.

 

 

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Examples and resources

No sé cómo no estás agotado con lo que corres.I am surprised you are not exhausted with all the running you do.
¿Vas a salir con lo que llueve?Are you going out despite all that rain?
Me sorprende que esté tan delgado con lo que come.I can't believe how thin he is given how much he eats.
Con lo que me ha costado este curso y ahora no es válido.After all the effort I made to do this course and now it turns out that it's not valid.
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