Confirming and Reinforcing Statements
When verifying expert appraisals or discussing the authenticity of antiques, you will often need to confirm or reinforce your points. Spanish uses two handy connectors for this: en efecto and de hecho.
To confirm that a suspicion, statement, or expectation has turned out to be true, use en efecto (indeed / sure enough).
| The antique dealer appraised this necklace yesterday and, indeed, it is valuable. | La anticuaria tasó este collar ayer y, en efecto, es valioso. |
| The expert confirmed the authenticity of the table; indeed, it is from the last century. | El experto confirmó la autenticidad de la mesa; en efecto, es del siglo pasado. |
On the other hand, use de hecho (in fact / as a matter of fact) to strengthen your previous statement by adding a supporting detail, especially one that goes a step further or provides stronger evidence.
| This painting is authentic; in fact, it is the antique dealer's most famous one. | Este cuadro es auténtico; de hecho, es el más famoso del anticuario. |
| It is a very bad forgery; in fact, I have already seen it before. | Es una falsificación muy mala; de hecho, ya la he visto antes. |
Notice how these connectors often follow a semicolon or a conjunction (like y), tying two related thoughts perfectly together.
| The collector said that the vase was authentic, and in fact it is. | La coleccionista dijo que el jarrón era auténtico, y de hecho lo es. |
| The antique dealer has not appraised the watch yet; in fact, he is very busy. | El anticuario todavía no ha tasado el reloj; de hecho, está muy ocupado. |
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