Breakdown of Decidí desechar el reloj, y eso que costó mucho dinero.
y
and
mucho
many / a lot
el reloj
the clock
eso
that (neuter)
decidir
to decide
el dinero
money
costar
to cost
que
that / than
desechar
to throw away / to discard (as trash)
Questions & Answers about Decidí desechar el reloj, y eso que costó mucho dinero.
Why do we use the indicative costó after y eso que instead of the subjunctive?
The phrase y eso que (even though / and to think that) introduces a statement of fact that makes the main action surprising. Unlike aunque, which can take either the indicative or the subjunctive, y eso que always takes the indicative because it brings up an established reality. The fact that the watch was expensive is an undeniable truth, not a hypothetical scenario.
Is desechar the most common way to say to throw away in Latin America?
Desechar means to discard or reject something no longer useful, and it works perfectly here. However, in everyday spoken Latin American Spanish, you will also frequently hear botar or tirar (often as botar a la basura) for throwing things away. Desechar sounds slightly more formal or deliberate.
Why use the preterite costó instead of the imperfect costaba?
Using the preterite costó focuses on the specific event of buying the watch. It refers to the actual price the speaker paid at that specific moment in the past. If you used costaba, it would describe the watch's general ongoing price tag or value over time, rather than the completed action of purchasing it.
Can I start the sentence with y eso que, like I can with even though in English?
No, y eso que almost always comes in the second part of a sentence. It functions as a contrasting afterthought to something you just stated. If you want to put the concessive clause at the beginning of the sentence, you should use aunque instead, as in Aunque costó mucho dinero, decidí desechar el reloj.
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