Breakdown of ¿Cuál es exactamente la explicación de lo que has hecho?
ser
to be
de
of
cuál
which / what (implying a choice)
hacer
to do, to make
haber
to have (auxiliary)
lo que
what (that which)
exactamente
exactly
la explicación
the explanation
Questions & Answers about ¿Cuál es exactamente la explicación de lo que has hecho?
Why do we use "lo que" here instead of just "qué"?
In Spanish, lo que translates to "what" when it means "the thing that" or refers to an abstract idea, action, or situation. We use qué with an accent for direct questions, but since this "what" isn't a question word itself—it points to the action you performed—lo que is the correct choice.
The English translation says "What is...", so why does the Spanish sentence start with "¿Cuál es..." instead of "¿Qué es..."?
Why does the sentence use "de" before "lo que" when the English translation says "for"?
Prepositions often don't translate word-for-word. In English, we ask for the explanation "for" something. In Spanish, the noun explicación usually connects to its subject with the preposition de. You are literally asking for the "explanation of" what they have done.
Why is "hecho" used instead of "hacido"?
hecho is the irregular past participle of the verb hacer (to do or to make). When forming the present perfect tense like has hecho (you have done), you must use hecho rather than following the regular rule of adding "-ido" to the stem.
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