The neuter pronoun "ello"
Because Spanish nouns are always masculine or feminine, you normally use él or ella to say "it" after a preposition. However, if "it" refers to an entire abstract idea, a general phenomenon, or a previously mentioned situation, we use the formal neuter pronoun ello.
You will mostly encounter ello after prepositions in formal, academic, or professional contexts.
| Where does this phenomenon arise from? The scientist has no idea about it. | ¿De dónde surge este fenómeno? El científico no tiene ni idea de ello. |
| Since the project is expensive, we must speak about it seriously. | Como el proyecto es caro, debemos hablar de ello en serio. |
Connecting cause and effect
In formal writing and speech, ello is incredibly useful for linking complex ideas together. You will frequently see it paired with the preposition de (of/from) to express where a deduction or result comes from.
| The impact is obvious and from it we deduce the hypothesis. | El impacto es obvio y de ello deducimos la hipótesis. |
| The engineer should study this factor, since a lot depends on it. | El ingeniero debería estudiar este factor, ya que mucho depende de ello. |
To explain that a preceding situation is the reason for an action, use por ello (because of it / therefore). If you want to summarize multiple points or a complex background, use the phrase por todo ello (for all these reasons / because of all this).
| The evidence shows the impact, and because of it we must act. | La evidencia muestra el impacto, y por ello debemos actuar. |
| For all these reasons, the manager's definitive conclusion is clear. | Por todo ello, la conclusión definitiva del gerente es clara. |