Breakdown of Lo que debes hacer es delegar el alquiler del toldo.
ser
to be
hacer
to do / to make
del
from the / of the
que
that / than
deber
must / should
lo
the ... thing (neuter article)
el alquiler
the rent
el toldo
the canopy
delegar
to delegate
Questions & Answers about Lo que debes hacer es delegar el alquiler del toldo.
Why do we use lo que at the beginning of this sentence instead of qué?
In this sentence, lo que means "that which" or "the thing that". It introduces an event-focus pseudo-cleft sentence, a structure used to put a spotlight on a specific action. While qué with an accent is used for direct or indirect questions, lo que acts as a neutral relative pronoun to set up the phrase "What you must do is...".
After es, why do we use the infinitive delegar rather than conjugating it?
When you use the structure Lo que... es... to focus on an action or event (like what someone should do), the action that follows es stays in the infinitive. Think of it as grammatically equating two ideas: "the thing to do" equals "to delegate".
I usually see words ending in "-er" as verbs. Is alquiler a verb here?
No, alquiler is a masculine noun meaning "the rent" or "the rental". It is a common exception to the rule that words ending in "-er" are infinitives. The actual verb for "to rent" is alquilar. Note that in many parts of Latin America, you might also hear la renta used as the noun and rentar as the verb.
What kind of object is a toldo?
A toldo is an awning, canopy, or event tent. In this context, delegating the rental of a toldo suggests someone is organizing an outdoor party or gathering and needs to rent a large tent to provide shade or shelter.
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