Que vs lo que
Does anyone know when to use que vs. lo que to me "what"?
For instance, my friend who's Mexican and speaks Spanish fluently, said "You know what to say" is "Sabes que decir" And I thought it would be "Sabes lo que decir".
So now, I'm confused.
18 Answers
Okay, I've got a good Spanish grammar book that deals with so many of these thorny issues called A New Reference Grammar of Modern Spanish (4th edition), and it addresses this very question on page 356.
Either qué or lo que are possible in indirect questions...except immediately before an infinitive, when qué is required and lo que may sound uneducated.
(emphasis theirs)
So, had the example phrase been, "I know what I will say," then you could have said either "Sé qué diré" OR "Sé lo que diré," but, since the phrase was "I know what to say," the infinitive decir was used so qué was required.
That is to say, both qué and lo que mean the same thing in this case (what), but, due to the fact it preceded an infinitive (decir), qué had to be used.
So, to break it down further, morbo's first example ("Sabes lo que tienes que decir") works with lo que because tienes is NOT an infinitive. And, if I understand correctly, he could also have said "Sabes qué tienes que decir" without any change in meaning (although, I have a feeling that lo que would be more common).
(I actually bought my copy off of ebay and it looks like this).
Erin, here's another example. Remember, lo que usually means that which
- Lo que quieres no existe.
- That which you want does not exist.
- No comprendo lo que ocurre.
- I do not understand that which is happening.
From the previous example
- Sabes lo que tienes qué decir. You know that which you have to/must say.
- Ya sabes qué decir. You already know what to say.
- Sabes qué decir. You know what to say.
¿Claro?
- Sabes lo que tienes qué decir. You know what you have to/must say.
- Ya sabes qué decir. You already know what to say.
- Sabes qué decir. You know what to say.
Lo que means something that is already known and que is something thats not known.
Ok, one last try. When what you are talking about ISN’T a particular noun but rather an idea, a wish, a situation, or something that happened in the past, you will need to use lo que. Lo que can also mean that, what, or that which.
- La verdad es que todo es lo que te mostré no es mío.
- The truth is all that I showed you is not mine.
- Lo que no entiendo es por que no me dijiste inmediatamente.
- What I don't understand is why you didn't tell me immediately.
Hello, Can anyone explain (without guessing) why one of these sentences has 'lo que' and the others only have 'que' - when in english, they all 3 include "know what".
- Sabes lo que tienes qué decir. You know what you have to/must say.
- Ya sabes qué decir. You already know what to say.
- Sabes qué decir. You know what to say.
OK, I'm kind of getting it but I'm still puzzled over these 2 sentences.
Sabes lo que tienes que decir. You know what you have to say.
Sabes que decir. You know what to say.
To me, they mean almost the same thing.
A couple of things you need to understand is, the difference between lo que and que is something you have to become familiar with, through usage and hearing them, plus, these words are particularly precise in their usage.
You are correct, they do mean almost the same thing.
Maybe another example....
Let's say we were having an argument, I said something to you, and immediately I knew that I had said the wrong thing. You question me about it, and I say:
- Lo que quise decir es que tienes razón.
- What I meant to say is that you're right.
Lo que (what) is something that I said and not a particular noun. It's not really an object in the physical sense.
Regarding the previous example, Lo que no entiendo es por que no me dijiste inmediatamente.
Lo que is referring to something I don't understand, a thought, a concept, not a physical 'thing', not to mention it also happened in the past.
On the other hand, if we were talking about a person or a thing we would use que
La mujer está manejando el carro que chocó con el edificio.
I think you can feel in this example that lo que wouldn't fit correctly.
It's late and I'm probably not making sense. Hopefully this isn't too bad. 
I also found this thread .
I have to agree with Erin.
With all the examples I still don´t know when to use "lo que! and when to use "Qué"
Is there not a definitive answer to this question?
Hi Erin, I had been looking around and finally found this today, I think this is very clear, let me know:
Concerning "lo que" vs. "qué," they are both used as pronouns replacing dependent noun clauses, however, "qué" implies a question, while "lo que" does not. They are both translated as "what". Some examples:
No sé qué hacer - I don't know what to do. Qué is used because this is an indirect question, sort of asking "what should I do?"
Sabes qué es un castor? - Do you know what a beaver is? The speaker does not know what "un castor" is and is asking for a definition of it.
Sabes lo que es un castor? - Do you know what a beaver is? This, however, asks for a yes or no answer. The speaker knows what "un castor" is, but wants to know if the listener also knows.
This seems to demand something more like a forum than a simple answer service. Please Nila can you give us an opinion on:
"Hago que quiero" or "Hago lo que quiero"
I'd find that interesting too.
"Hago que quiero" is completely incorrect.
"Hago lo que quiero" is correct.
It is impossible to say "que quiero" porque it is not a relative sentence.
Esta es la casa que quiero (relative sentence).
No sé qué decir.
No sé lo que decir.
No sé lo que quiero decir.
These last sentences are indirect questions. Then, I prefer to use "lo que" when the verb in the clause sentence is conjugated.
I prefer to use "qué" when there is an infinitive after it and "lo que" when the verb after it is conjugated.
No sé qué comprar.
No sé lo que quiero comprar.
I mean, when I am using this type of sentence: Saber + something.
I remember being totally confused by this but the pain went away over the years and I found (that) I was not only understanding but even, so it seemed, getting it right. I can only say, Erin, that it seems to be one of those things that you simply have to put to one side, admit that you, like me, can get it wrong and just keep on trying.
Maybe somewhere the grammar book has a rule but I never found it and I lost my late wife's copy of Harmer and Naughton (used to be THE standard Spanish grammar in the UK) when I moved to Texas.
OK, I'm kind of getting it but I'm still puzzled over these 2 sentences.
Sabes lo que tienes que decir. You know what you have to say.
Sabes que decir. You know what to say.
To me, they mean almost the same thing.
?
Jack - thank you SO MUCH for getting me this far! I hope you might be able to explain these 2 sentences.
