Log inSign up

Lo del dinero es un asunto importante.

Lo del dinero es un asunto importante.
The money thing is an important matter.
From Lesson 287:Referring to situations (lo de)·Spanish (Latin America)

Breakdown of Lo del dinero es un asunto importante.

ser
to be
importante
important
el dinero
the money
el asunto
the matter (affair)

Questions & Answers about Lo del dinero es un asunto importante.

Why does the sentence use lo del dinero instead of just el dinero?
The phrase lo de is used to refer to a situation, matter, or event that both the speaker and listener already know about. While el dinero just means 'the money', adding lo de turns it into 'the money thing' or 'the situation regarding the money'.
Why is it del instead of de?
The structure being used is lo de + noun. Because the noun is el dinero, it creates the combination de el. In Spanish, whenever the preposition de is followed immediately by the masculine article el, they must contract into del. So, lo de el dinero becomes lo del dinero.
Why do we use es instead of está for 'is' here?
Even though we are talking about a specific situation, we use ser (in this case, es) because we are identifying what the situation is and describing its core nature. When you link a subject (lo del dinero) to a noun phrase that defines it (un asunto importante), you always use ser.
Could I say un tema importante instead of un asunto importante?
Yes, you can! Asunto means 'matter', 'issue', or 'affair'. Tema translates closer to 'topic' or 'subject'. In this context, both un asunto importante and un tema importante are completely natural and mean basically the same thing.

Learn Lo del dinero es un asunto importante and more in Spanish

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning Spanish →