Word
Lo de que multan al chico descalzo es indignante.
Meaning
The thing about them fining the barefoot guy is outrageous.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Lo de que multan al chico descalzo es indignante.
ser
to be
de
from / of
el chico
the boy (older / teenager)
que
that / than
Questions & Answers about Lo de que multan al chico descalzo es indignante.
What exactly does lo de que mean here, and how is it different from just lo que?
Lo que means "what" or "that which" (e.g., lo que dicen = "what they say"). By adding de, lo de que translates roughly to "the thing about the fact that..." or "the situation regarding...". It allows you to take an entire conjugated clause (multan al chico descalzo) and package it into a single situational topic that you can then comment on.
Since es indignante expresses an emotion, shouldn't multan be in the subjunctive (multen)?
If the sentence were constructed directly as "It is outrageous that...", you would absolutely use the subjunctive: Es indignante que multen al chico. However, the phrase lo de que frames the clause as a reference to an already established fact or piece of news ("that whole business about them fining the guy"). Because you are referring to a stated fact, the indicative (multan) is natural here.
Who is the subject of multan (they fine) in this context?
Why do we need al before chico descalzo?