O sea que in a different way

Question

So 'O sea que" means "or is it that"...... "in other words" .......but just like "por eso" can mean "that's why" or "for that (reason)" I wonder if "o sea que" can be used to state a fact....... por instance......

¿Estás enojado conmigo o sea que de veras no puedes hablar ahora? O ¿De veras no puedes hablar o sea que estás enojado conmigo y por eso no quieres hablar?

Are you mad at me or is that you really can't talk now? You really can't talk or is it that you are mad at me and therefore you don't want to talk? Gracias.

Answer 1

Are you saying that none of what I have said is correct?

Not that bad. Let me explain:

¿Estás enojado conmigo o sea que de veras no puedes hablar ahora?

This would make sense if you said:

¿Estás enojado conmigo? O sea, ¿que de veras no puedes hablar ahora?

I don't quite see the connection, but at least the flow is right now. You ask a question, you summarise or clarify everything with "O sea", and then you add or continue your argument with another question. This "o sea" must be intonated as a clarification or summary, and never as a question.

"O sea" is intonated similarly to "Let's make this clear:"

O sea = Just to be clear

O sea, que no puedo... = Just to be clear, (you are saying) that I can't...

¿De veras no puedes hablar o sea que estás enojado conmigo y por eso no quieres hablar?

Same thing:

¿De veras no puedes hablar? O sea, ¿que estás enojado conmigo y por eso no quieres hablar?

I've almost got it Lazarus just one final question. Why doesn't "o sea" mean "or is it that" like it seems like it would mean? I use it all the time in conversation as a crutch word, and I always thought it meant, "or is it that". Now I see that I was - jeezzle, Sep 3, 2010

saying something completely different than what I thought. Wasn't I? O sea = just to be clear and most definitely N O T or is it? Never or is it? Gracias. - jeezzle, Sep 3, 2010

PS your help is very much appreciated so I thank you. - jeezzle, Sep 3, 2010

Answer 2

So 'O sea que" means "or is it that"...... "in other words" .......but just like "por eso" can mean "that's why" or "for that (reason)" I wonder if "o sea que" can be used to state a fact....... por instance......

Maybe I'm missing something, but your approximations seem to be miles away from the usual meaning. The easiest way to translate "O sea, que..." is "So..." That's it. Of course, you'd be wondering why so many words for such a simple introduction, and the reason is because a translation closer to the proper register (but too awkward to be a good choice) could be rendered as "Considering everything so far, we can conclude that..." Much easier to say "So...", without losing much, except the slightly "posh" overtones of the original "O sea, que..."

¿Estás enojado conmigo o sea que de veras no puedes hablar ahora?

Not very convincing, if you ask me. For starters, "o sea" must come after a clear pause, and not flowing like the rest of the sentence. It is a way to put together all arguments given so far, and provide a kind of conclusive summary.

Answer 3

Jeezle, your confusion is: o sea que goes together, it does not

It is, o sea....que esto....whatever .

Answer 4

Just yesterday I posted a thread in which it was said to mean "in other words" by Gekkosan, an esteemed member of our site and brilliant native Spanish speaker. This wordreference thread link text states that "o sea" means "in other words" which I already knew, but not with the "que" attached. The original question yesterday was like "o sea que es gratis". in other words it's free. Are you saying that none of what I have said is correct? I'm not sure I understand the gist of when to use it. Two mexican friends at work told me that "¿Estás enojado conmigo o sea que de veras no puedes hablar ahora?" is a fine sentence, is it not correct then? Gracias.

Edit: Seems like it would mean "or is it that" because sea is from ser "to be" (is...it) and que what be "that".