Breakdown of La calefacción consumió gas más rápido de lo que esperábamos.
de
from / of
rápido
fast
esperar
to wait / to hope / to expect
que
that / than
más
more
la
the (feminine)
lo
the ... thing (neuter article)
el gas
gas
consumir
to consume
la calefacción
heating
Questions & Answers about La calefacción consumió gas más rápido de lo que esperábamos.
Why do we use de lo que here instead of just que for "than"?
In Spanish, when you compare something to a full clause that has a conjugated verb (like esperábamos), you cannot use que alone. Instead, you must use de followed by a definite article and que. Because we are comparing the abstract idea of speed rather than a specific noun, we use the neuter article lo.
Why is it de lo que and not del que? Doesn't the sentence mention gas?
Although gas is in the sentence, the comparison is focused on the adverb rápido (how fast it was consumed), not the noun gas. When comparing adverbs or adjectives to a clause, you always use the neuter de lo que. You would only use del que if you were comparing the quantity of the gas itself, such as consumió más gas del que esperábamos (it consumed more gas than we expected).
Why doesn't rápido agree in gender with la calefacción?
Here, rápido is functioning as an adverb modifying the verb consumió, rather than an adjective modifying a noun. It tells us how the heating consumed the gas. When rápido is used as an adverb, it always stays in the invariable masculine singular form. You could also use rápidamente, but rápido is extremely common in spoken Spanish.
Why is esperábamos in the imperfect tense when consumió is in the preterite?
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