Que vs. lo que

[laepelba]

The English sentence: I should tell you (Ud.) what happened.

I wrote: Le debiera decir lo que pasó.

The book's answer: Debiera decirle que pasó.

I understand the pronombre enclítico, but am wondering about the word "lo". Is it okay where I wrote it? Or do I have the wrong understanding of it's use?

Thank you!

[chileno]

Originally Posted by laepelba

The English sentence: I should tell you (Ud.) what happened.

I wrote: Le debiera decir lo que pasó.

The book's answer: Debiera decirle que pasó.

I understand the pronombre enclítico, but am wondering about the word "lo". Is it okay where I wrote it? Or do I have the wrong understanding of it's use?

Thank you!

For me the book's choice is ambiguous, as it should translate also to "I should tell you that happened"

Do I make sense?

"lo que" = what in this case.

[laepelba]

So what I wrote is wrong? Or right?

[chileno]

Originally Posted by laepelba

So what I wrote is wrong? Or right?

Sorry, I meant to to state that you are more than right.

[laepelba]

Thanks! I use "lo que" a lot, and want to make sure that I'm not mis-using it....

[Rusty]

What you wrote is fine.
Both sentences mean the same thing.

[chileno]

Originally Posted by Rusty

What you wrote is fine.
Both sentences mean the same thing.

Not exactly. Not to me anyway. The second phrase should also have a "lo" included.

Debiera decirle lo que pasó.

[Rusty]

I totally agree with you, but some speakers omit the pronoun. You can google "decirle lo que pasó" and "decirle qué pasó" and see what I mean. Most people use the pronoun. Notice that I added an accent to the second example, making the middle word a relative pronoun instead of a conjunction (which is what you were trying to teach Lou Ann earlier in this thread). The google hits demonstrate that most people use the pronoun and that those who don't use it don't know that the relative pronoun they used instead needs an accent.

[chileno]

Originally Posted by Rusty

I totally agree with you, but some speakers omit the pronoun. You can google "decirle lo que pasó" and "decirle qué pasó" and see what I mean. Most people use the pronoun. Notice that I added an accent to the second example, making the middle word a relative pronoun instead of a conjunction (which is what you were trying to teach Lou Ann earlier in this thread). The google hits demonstrate that most people use the pronoun and that those who don't use it don't know that the relative pronoun they used instead needs an accent.

Got it.

[laepelba]

So is it like the difference between "...what happened" and "...that which happened" in English? Both equally acceptable, but different use of relative pronouns?

[Rusty]

You got it! And, your book's answer should have had an accent over the relative pronoun they chose to use.

[laepelba]

Ahhhh!! And they DID. I mis-typed it!! But they did NOT have an accent on the *o* in "pasó"! It should be in both places. Hah!

[Rusty]

Shame on that book.

[laepelba]

Oh, there're lotsa mistakes in this book. I LOVE finding them!

[wafflestomp]

I see this leaving out of the "lo" in "lo que" a lot with the verb "pasar". It's in a few songs I have heard, like "Sin saber qué pasó". Is this acceptable in other situations? Like if I were to say "What this means is..." I could say "Lo que significa esto" or I could say "que significia esto..."?? The second sounds and looks weird though.

[chileno]

Originally Posted by wafflestomp

I see this leaving out of the "lo" in "lo que" a lot with the verb "pasar". It's in a few songs I have heard, like "Sin saber qué pasó". Is this acceptable in other situations? Like if I were to say "What this means is..." I could say "Lo que significa esto" or I could say "que significia esto..."?? The second sounds and looks weird though.

Not quite.

Sin saber qué pasó = Without knowing what happened

What this means is... = Lo que significa esto... or Lo que esto significa...

¿Qué significa esto? = What does this mean?

All these are meaningful in one way or another, which is to say you should be able to understand.

Todas estad son significantes de una manera u otra, lo cual es decir que debieras ser capaz de entender.

[Rusty]

If you're asking a question, it's "¿Qué significa esto?" The first word means 'what' and it is known as an interrogative.
If you're saying 'what this means' it's 'lo que significa esto' or 'qué significa esto'. The word 'qué' (with the accent) is a relative pronoun. It means 'what' (or that which). The words 'lo que' mean 'that which', too, and is also a relative pronoun, in phrase form.
Remember to use an accent is 'qué' is being used to refer back to some concept. (That's why it's called a relative pronoun.) Without the accent, it's the conjunction 'that'.