Breakdown of La mujer dice que todos suelen cuchichear sobre esa política.
ese
that (masculine)
la mujer
the woman
que
that / than
la
the (feminine)
todo
all / everything
decir
to say, to tell
sobre
on / over / about (a topic)
soler
to usually do / to tend to
la política
the policy
cuchichear
to whisper / to gossip (secrets)
Questions & Answers about La mujer dice que todos suelen cuchichear sobre esa política.
Why does this sentence use que after dice instead of the complex reference lo de que?
The phrase lo de que translates roughly to the whole thing about the fact that and is used to refer back to a specific situation or rumor that is already known to the speakers. Because the woman in this sentence is simply introducing a new statement of fact, rather than referring back to a previously discussed situation, the standard conjunction que is all you need to connect dice to the reported speech.
What does cuchichear imply here compared to just saying susurrar?
While susurrar means to whisper in a general or neutral sense, cuchichear carries a strong connotation of whispering secretly, usually to gossip or talk behind someone's back. It is highly appropriate here since people are gossiping about a policy. It is also an onomatopoeic word, meaning it sounds like the whispering action itself!
How does suelen cuchichear translate to usually whispers?
The verb soler means to be in the habit of doing something. When you conjugate soler and follow it with an infinitive verb like cuchichear, it translates to usually doing that action. You could also say normalmente cuchichean, but using soler is an extremely common and natural way to express habitual actions in Spanish.
Could esa política mean something else in this exact sentence?
Yes! Depending entirely on the context of the conversation, esa política could also mean that female politician. The Spanish word política can translate to policy, politics in general, or a female politician. The English translation provided assumes they are gossiping about a new rule or law, but the other interpretation is grammatically perfect.
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