ELONIO
Log inSign up

Curiosamente, empeoró lo de maullar.

Curiosamente, empeoró lo de maullar.
Curiously, the meowing thing got worse.
From Lesson 340:Situational reference (lo de)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about Curiosamente, empeoró lo de maullar.

How does lo de work with an infinitive like maullar here?
The phrase lo de translates roughly to "the matter of" or "the thing about." When you attach it to an infinitive verb like maullar (to meow), it turns that action into a general concept or an ongoing situation. In this sentence, lo de maullar perfectly captures "the whole meowing thing" or "the meowing situation."
Why is the verb empeoró placed before the subject lo de maullar?
In Spanish, placing the subject after the verb is very common when the subject is an abstract concept or a non-living thing. With verbs that express a change in state or something happening, like empeorar (to get worse), placing the abstract subject (lo de maullar) at the end of the sentence flows much more naturally than standard English word order.
Why isn't the verb reflexive here, like se empeoró?
Unlike many verbs that require a reflexive pronoun in Spanish to show a change of state, empeorar works directly. It inherently means "to get worse" (or "to make worse") without needing a reflexive pronoun like se. You just conjugate it to match the subject, which is why it is simply empeoró.
Could I say se puso peor instead of empeoró?
Yes, absolutely. Se puso peor means the exact same thing and is very common in everyday conversational Spanish. Empeorar is just a slightly more concise, single-verb way to express that something deteriorated or got worse.

Learn Curiosamente, empeoró lo de maullar 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 →