Breakdown of Olvidé lo del grupo biológico de este animal vertebrado.
de
from / of
el animal
the animal
este
this
olvidar
to forget
el grupo
the group
lo
the ... thing (neuter article)
biológico
biological
vertebrado
vertebrate
Questions & Answers about Olvidé lo del grupo biológico de este animal vertebrado.
Why do both biológico and vertebrado come after their nouns? Can I say el biológico grupo?
Both biológico and vertebrado are relational adjectives. This means they classify a noun into a specific category (a biological group, a vertebrate animal) rather than just describing a physical or emotional trait. A strict rule in Spanish is that relational adjectives must always be placed after the noun. You cannot say el biológico grupo.
Could I say un animal muy vertebrado to emphasize the trait?
No, you cannot use degree words like muy (very) or bastante (quite) with relational adjectives. Because words like vertebrado or biológico put things into absolute categories, an animal either belongs to the category or it doesn't. You can have an animal muy grande (qualifying adjective), but not an animal muy vertebrado.
How does lo del work to mean 'the thing about the'?
Lo is a neuter article used to refer to abstract ideas or situations rather than specific masculine or feminine nouns. When paired with the preposition de (of/about), the phrase lo de translates to 'the matter of,' 'the thing about,' or 'that business regarding.' Here, lo del is just the mandatory contraction of lo de + el.
The sentence uses Olvidé. Could I say Me olvidé instead?
Yes, but you would have to add the preposition de. You can use either the simple verb olvidar (Olvidé lo del grupo) or the pronominal verb olvidarse de (Me olvidé de lo del grupo). Both are perfectly correct for 'I forgot,' though olvidarse de is extremely common in everyday spoken Latin American Spanish.
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