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### Referring to "the thing about..."

When catching up on recent news or office gossip, you often want to bring up a situation that both you and your coworker already know about. Instead of explaining the whole story, you can simply use the phrase *lo de* (the thing about / the matter of).

Because you are referring to an abstract situation or event rather than a specific object, we use the neuter article *lo*. You can follow *lo de* directly with an infinitive verb to refer to an action.

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You can also follow *lo de* with a noun to refer to a specific event, like a merger or a transfer.

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### Discussing the rumors

*Lo de* is perfect for casually discussing leaks, secrets, and rumors without needing to spell everything out.

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Remember that if the noun following *lo de* uses the masculine singular article *el*, the preposition *de* and the article *el* must combine into the contraction *del*.

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Referring to a known matter (lo de)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Singular subjects and 'ser' (yo soy, esto es)

Plural nouns and definite articles (los, las)

Plural pronouns and 'ser' (somos, sois, son)

Adjective agreement (-o, -a, -os, -as)

Indefinite articles (un, una, unos, unas)

Simple negation (no)

Yes/no questions

Regular '-ar' verbs (-o, -as, -a...)

Regular '-er' verbs (-o, -es, -e...)

Regular '-ir' verbs (-o, -es, -e...)

Locative adverbs (aquí, allí)

Question words (quién, cómo)

The verb estar (estoy, estás)

The preposition en (en)

Ser vs. estar

The verb tener (tengo, tienes)

Possessive determiners (mi, tu, su)

Origin and possession (de, del)

The verb ir (voy, vas)

Destination (a, al)

The personal 'a' (a)

Stem-changing verbs: e to ie

Stem-changing verbs: o to ue

Irregular first-person verbs

Reflexive verbs (me, te, se)

Numbers 1 to 10 (uno, dos, tres)

Numbers 11 to 20 (once, doce, trece)

Counting by tens to 100 (treinta, cuarenta, cien)

Compound numbers up to 99 (veintiuno, treinta y uno)

Days of the week (el lunes, el martes)

The family and the personal 'a' (a mi tío, a mi prima)

Months of the year

Telling time (es la, son las)

Verbs of liking (me gusta)

Plural agreement with verbs of liking (gustan)

Degree modifiers (muy, mucho)

Formal address (usted, ustedes)

Direct object pronouns (lo, la, los, las)

The near future (ir a)

Obligation (tener que)

Present continuous (-ando, -iendo)

Affirmative commands (tú, vosotros)

Basic Food and Drink

The Human Body: Head and Arms

The Human Body: Legs and Health

Wardrobe Essentials

Fresh Produce

Meals and Proteins

Public Transport

Hello and goodbye (hola, ¿qué tal?)

Thank you, sorry, OK (gracias, vale)

There is, there are (hay)

My building (la escalera, el ascensor)

Describing people (moreno, rubio, tímido)

Land and sea (el mar, el río, el norte)

Sightseeing (la plaza, la catedral)

Asking the way (cerca, a la derecha, todo recto)

In class (¿puedes repetir?)

Verb + infinitive (quiero comer, sé leer)

What's your name? (me llamo, encantado)

Phone, computer and email

Hundreds and thousands (doscientos, mil)

What do you do? (¿a qué te dedicas?)

Personal details (la edad, la fecha de nacimiento)

Me neither (también, tampoco, ni)

How much is it? (el precio, la vuelta)

What's the weather like? (hace sol, nieva)

Free time (el concierto, el tenis)

At the bar (¿qué vas a tomar?)

The Natural World

Demonstratives (este, ese, aquel)

Prepositions of place (encima de, debajo de)

Prepositional pronouns (para mí, contigo)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primero to décimo)

Adverbs of frequency (a veces, nunca)

Exclamations (¡qué...!)

Indefinite pronouns (algo, alguien)

Indefinite determiners (algún, ningún)

Indirect object pronouns (le, les)

Double object pronouns (me lo, te la)

Double object pronouns (se lo, se la)

Verbs of preference (encantar, interesar)

Impersonal obligation (hay que)

Starting and finishing actions (empezar a, terminar de)

Adjective comparatives (más que, menos que)

Comparatives of equality (tan como)

Noun comparatives (tanto como)

Question	Answer
the firing	el despido
Is the director's firing official?	¿Es oficial el despido del director?
They announced the firing this morning.	Han anunciado el despido esta mañana.
to fire	despedir
The thing about firing the director is a big problem.	Lo de despedir al director es un gran problema.
If they fire the director, I'm resigning.	Como despidan al director, dimito.
the merger	la fusión
The thing about the merger with that company is false.	Lo de la fusión con esa empresa es falso.
We keep negotiating the merger.	Seguimos negociando la fusión.
the transfer (relocation)	el traslado
surprising	sorprendente
The thing about your transfer is very surprising.	Lo de tu traslado es muy sorprendente.
The manager hasn't confirmed the transfer.	El gerente no ha confirmado el traslado.
to leak	filtrar
the cut	el recorte
Who leaked the thing about the cuts?	¿Quién ha filtrado lo de los recortes?
They keep leaking information to the press.	Siguen filtrando la información a la prensa.
the pregnancy	el embarazo
The thing about her pregnancy is a secret.	Lo de su embarazo es un secreto.
We want to celebrate the boss's pregnancy.	Queremos celebrar el embarazo de la jefa.
the shareholder	el accionista
The shareholder's decision is surprising.	La decisión del accionista es sorprendente.
to deny (refute)	desmentir
The boss has to deny the firing.	El jefe tiene que desmentir el despido.
They are going to deny the news tomorrow.	Van a desmentir la noticia mañana.
If they announce the thing about the cut, we're protesting.	Si anuncian lo del recorte, protestamos.
The shareholders support the merger.	Los accionistas apoyan la fusión.
the gynecologist	el ginecólogo
Have you told your gynecologist about the pregnancy?	¿Le has contado lo del embarazo a tu ginecóloga?
Tomorrow I have an appointment with the gynecologist.	Mañana tengo cita con el ginecólogo.
the permanent contract	el contrato indefinido
At last I have a permanent contract!	¡Por fin tengo un contrato indefinido!
The business about the permanent contracts is only a rumor.	Lo de los contratos indefinidos es solo un rumor.
to work overtime	hacer horas extra
This week I've worked ten hours of overtime.	Esta semana he hecho diez horas extra.
I don't want to work overtime this weekend.	No quiero hacer horas extra este fin de semana.

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