Referring to situations (lo de)

Referring to situations with lo de

Use lo de ("the matter of", "the situation with", or "the thing about") to refer to a known event or situation without repeating all the details. It is usually followed by a noun, a name, or a time expression (like ayer).

The situation with the corruption started the controversy.
Lo de la corrupción empezó la polémica.
The thing about the minister's resignation was a surprise.
Lo de la renuncia del ministro fue una sorpresa.

You will hear lo de often when people discuss news or recent scandals.

Do you remember the thing about the union's demonstration?
¿Recuerdas lo de la manifestación del sindicato?
The situation with the recent violence is very sad.
Lo de la violencia reciente es muy triste.

Remember that when de is followed by the masculine article el, they contract into del.

They keep hiding the business with the bribe.
Ellos siguen ocultando lo del soborno.