Breakdown of Lo del proyecto urbano fue terrible.
ser
to be
del
from the / of the
el proyecto
the project
terrible
terrible / awful
Questions & Answers about Lo del proyecto urbano fue terrible.
How does lo del translate to 'what happened with'?
Lo is the neuter article here, used to refer to abstract ideas, situations, or concepts rather than a specific masculine or feminine noun. Combined with de (which contracts with el to make del), the phrase lo de translates to 'the matter of,' 'the thing about,' or in this context, 'what happened with.' It is a very common shortcut in Spanish for referring to a known situation without explaining it all over again.
Why use fue instead of estuvo if terrible describes how something felt?
We use ser (here in the preterite, fue) to evaluate or sum up an event, project, or situation as a whole. While estar is used for temporary conditions and personal feelings, ser is used for the essential characteristics of an event. You are classifying the entire situation of the urban project as a terrible event.
Could I use the imperfect era instead of fue here?
Yes, but it changes the nuance. Using the preterite fue summarizes the project as a completed, closed event in the past, giving your final verdict on the whole ordeal. If you used era, you would be describing what the project was like while it was ongoing, usually setting the background scene before mentioning something else that happened.
Why is the adjective urbano placed after the noun proyecto?