Complete Spanish

Track 70

1. lo que, for "what" when it is not a question Rule

Qué is the question word. When what is not asking anything, it becomes lo que.

lo que = what (not a question)

Vi lo que haces · Cociné lo que comen · Lo que falta

No quiero que hables sobre lo que hablamos · No quiero que hables sobre lo que hablábamos

For about you can use de or sobre, and in the second half you need no about at all.

2. More verbs that trigger the mood tense Rule

The pattern is a verb expressing what you want to happen in the world, followed by que.

quiero que
I want that
necesito que
I need that
prefiero que
I prefer that
hace falta que
it is necessary that

Necesito que lo prepare · Necesito que usted lo prepare · Necesito que prepare lo que falta · Hace falta que comamos pronto · Prefiero que se quede · Prefiero que se queden · Prefiero que no se queden aquí

It is not only the structure to identify but the feeling. Get your head around how the mood tense feels and you can start experimenting, and listening out for where people use it.

3. faltar, to be missing Vocabulary

An awkward one to translate but very common. It is to be short of, to be missing, to lack.

faltar
to lack, to be missing
la falta
the lack
hace falta
it is necessary, "it makes lack"

Lo que falta (what's missing) · falta de consideración · falta de respeto

Hace falta has no comfortable literal translation, which is normal for fixed expressions. Take it as another way of saying it's necessary.

4. Clarifying inside the mood tense Grammar

All the earlier machinery still applies. The se lo change and the a clarification work the same way here.

Prefiero que se lo des · Prefiero que se lo des a él · Prefiero que se lo des a ella

Necesito que lo prepare usted, when you need to show you mean formal you and not him or her.

5. Choosing the line past to remove ambiguity Method

A practical use for a choice that is otherwise a matter of feeling. Hablamos can be present or past, so a sentence built on it can be read either way.

lo que hablamos
what we spoke about, or what we speak about
lo que hablábamos
unambiguously past

Two fixes: add a time expression like el otro día, or pick the line past so the tense itself does the work. The meaning shifts so slightly that both are fine.

Worth remembering that context strong in your own mind is not necessarily shared by the listener.

6. New vocabulary Vocabulary

necesitar
to need
la necesidad
necessity
el otro día
the other day
Pronto is soon in Spanish, but ready in Italian, which is why Italians answer the phone with it: historically an operator asking whether you were ready. The Spanish sense matches the British slang "get here pronto".