ELONIO
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El departamento consume menos gas del que nosotros estimamos.

El departamento consume menos gas del que nosotros estimamos.
The apartment consumes less gas than we estimated.
From Lesson 369:Clausal comparatives (más/menos ... de lo que)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about El departamento consume menos gas del que nosotros estimamos.

Why do we use del que here instead of just que?
When comparing an amount of a noun (like gas) to a full clause (a phrase with a conjugated verb, like nosotros estimamos), Spanish uses de + a definite article + que. Because gas is a masculine singular noun, we use el que, which contracts with de to form del que. If you were simply comparing two nouns (like "less gas than electricity"), you would just use que.
Could I use de lo que in this sentence instead?
No. You use the neuter de lo que when the comparison is based on an adjective, an adverb, or an abstract idea. Because we are specifically talking about the quantity of a noun (gas), the article must match that noun's gender and number. Since gas is masculine and singular, it must be del que.
Is estimamos in the present or the past tense here?
It is in the preterite (simple past) tense. For regular -ar and -ir verbs, the nosotros form is exactly the same in both the present and the preterite. The context of the sentence (comparing current consumption to a previous estimate) tells us it means "we estimated".
Is it necessary to include the pronoun nosotros?
It is optional. Saying ...del que estimamos is perfectly correct and very common. Including nosotros just adds a slight emphasis to clarify exactly who made the estimate.

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