Eso de... and Lo de.....
It seems to me that these two phrases can be used in a similar way, but are they actually interchangeable?
Eso del cariño...
Lo del otro día..
In English I understand it to translate as something like:
'That business of'
'All that stuff about'
Or.....is there a distinction in that (this is my guess) 'Eso de' is more general, and 'Lo de' refers to something specific, already known to the speakers?
Examples:
Eso de la diéta macrobiótica me interesa mucho. (No requirement for anyone to have mentioned it previously)
Lo de mi sobrina me ha gustado mucho. (The topic is already known to the speakers.)
Gracias de antemano por la ayuda.
1 Answer
I wouldn´t assure you the terms are interchangeable, although your examples were all correct. I think that despite grammatical similarity they have different connotations
lo del cariño and eso del cariño do not sound exactly the same to me.
I have the impression that ´eso de´ has a negative connotation (eso del cariño, as if you don´t appreciate too much what you´re referring to, like expressing a mild contempt) while ´lo de´ could be perceived as some lack of knowledge but not lack of interest or disdain (lo de mi sobrina no me gusta=> I don´t like that, but I´m not saying is wrong or worthless).
