El niño no había comido en cuarenta y ocho horas. La madre parecía
no hacer caso de ello/él.
The child had not eaten for forty eight hours. The mother appeared not
to notice this (i.e. the fact that he had not eaten)/him (i.e. the child
himself).
2.8Lo
(a)Lo+ adjective (always m. sg.) corresponds to such notions in English as ‘the...
thing’, ‘the... aspect’:
lo bueno y lo malo
the good and the bad
Lo gracioso fue que entonces no sabía qué decir.
The funny thing was that he/she didn’t know what to say then.
en lo arriba expuesto
in what has been said above
lo mejor de Madrid
the best aspects of Madrid
(b)Lo+ adjective (variable according to noun referred to) corresponds to ‘how.. .’
(see 12.1):
No sabes lo bonitas que son las flores.
You don’t know how beautiful the flowers are.
(c)Lo+ de is equivalent to English ‘the matter of’, ‘the business of’ (the expression
often has a rather pejorative overtone):
en lo del tráfico de intereses
in the insider dealing business
(d)Lo que is sometimes used as an alternative to qué in indirect questions (see 12.2):
Pregúntales lo que/qué quieren.
Ask them what they want.
2.8
Lo
