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¡Lo que engulle ese hombre!

¡Lo que engulle ese hombre!
How much that man gobbles!
From Lesson 481:Exclamatory amounts (¡lo que...!)·Spanish (Spain)

Questions & Answers about ¡Lo que engulle ese hombre!

Why use lo que here instead of cuánto?
While ¡Cuánto engulle ese hombre! is also perfectly correct, using ¡Lo que...! followed by a verb is a very common and natural way in Spain to emphasize the sheer quantity or intensity of an action. It translates smoothly to 'The amount that that man gobbles!'
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?
In exclamatory sentences introduced by words like qué, cuánto, or phrases like lo que, Spanish strongly prefers putting the subject after the verb. Saying ¡Lo que ese hombre engulle! would sound awkward to native speakers.
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!'

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