Breakdown of ¡Lo que engulle ese hombre!
el hombre
the man
ese
that (m.sg., also esa, esos, esas, eso)
lo que
how much (in exclamations)
engullir
to gobble
Questions & Answers about ¡Lo que engulle ese hombre!
Why use lo que here instead of cuánto?
What is the difference between engulle and a standard word like come?
Engulle comes from the verb engullir, which means to gobble up, wolf down, or swallow without chewing. It adds a much more visual, intense flavor to the exclamation than simply using comer (to eat).
Why is the subject ese hombre placed after the verb instead of before it?
Could I use this same lo que structure to say how tall or handsome the man is?
Not exactly. The ¡lo que + verb! structure is for quantifying actions (how much someone does something). If you want to exclaim about a characteristic, you use ¡lo + adjective + que + verb!. For example, ¡Lo alto que es ese hombre! means 'How tall that man is!'