Learn how you can refer to something mentioned with lo de que/lo de in Spanish
Lo de que + [conjugated verb]
In Spanish, when something has been mentioned in a conversation, we refer to it afterwards with:
Lo de que + [sentence with a conjugated verb]
For example:
Imagine that someone said yesterday "María is going to live abroad", we would refer to this later like this:
If someone has mentioned "getting a new job", we could refer to this later on:
"Lo de que" can be followed by the indicative or subjunctive, without changing the meaning of the sentence.
For example:
Lo de que yo pago todo era una broma. (present indicative)
Lo de que yo pague todo era una broma. (present subjunctive)
That thing about me paying for everything was a joke.
Lo de + infinitive/noun/adverb
We can refer to a previous comment/fact in the same way with:
- (with infinitive)
- (with proper noun)
- (with noun)
- (with adverb)
Remember:
Lo de que and Lo de are both used to refer back to something that has already been mentioned and mean exactly the same thing, but whether to use Lo de que or Lo de depends on what follows:
Lo de que + conjugated verb (indicative or subjunctive)
vs
Lo de + infinitive, noun, or adverb
Lo de que María se va a vivir a Francia, ¿es verdad?
Lo de irse a Francia, ¿es verdad?
Lo de María, ¿es verdad? etc.
Note that the demonstratives can also be used the same way, referring to the same thing:
Eso de irse de vacaciones sin los niños no está mal, ¿no?Going on holiday without the children is not a bad idea, is it?
Esto de salir a bailar cada sábado me encanta.I love this [new] thing where we go out dancing every Saturday.
Here we are using the demonstratives to refer to something generally already mentioned or implied in the conversation.
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Learn more about these related Spanish grammar topics
Examples and resources
Aquello de que se casaba por amor me sonaba un poco raro.That thing about him marrying for love sounded a bit suspicious.
Eso de irse de vacaciones sin los niños no está mal, ¿no?Going on holiday without the children is not a bad idea, is it?
Esto de salir a bailar cada sábado me encanta.I love this [new] thing where we go out dancing every Saturday.
Eso de que no tienes dinero no me lo creo.I don't believe what you're saying about you not having any money.
