Sentences with "lo que"
I wrote a sentence yesterday using "lo que" in such an apparently awkward or non-idiomatic way that it set off alarm bells. Please help me understand how to use this phrase properly. Here are a few sentences - how can I improve them?
1 La sorpresa es lo que metí en la torta. The surprise is what I put in the cake.
2 Finalmente entendí lo que el profesor me dijo. Finally I understood what the professor told me.
3 El misterio es lo que ocurre al final del libro. The mystery is what happens at the end of the book.
4 Guarda en secreto lo que he dicho. Keep secret what I have said.
5 Lo que Marta te dijo no es la verdad. What Marta told you is not the truth.
¡Gracias!
3 Answers
It´s not so much a matter of content as it is a matter of word placement. "Lo que" usually goes at the beginning. Your last sentence has better word placement, but to make it just a little more natural, I would say "Lo que te dijo Marta no es la verdad."
Do your other sentences with this type of placement and they will be fine.
How are these rewrites?
1 Lo que metí en la torta es la sorpresa. What I put in the cake is the surprise.
2 Lo que el profesor me dijo finalmente entendí . Finally I understood what the professor told me.
3 Lo que ocurre al final del libro es el misterio. What happens at the end of the book is the mystery.
4 Lo que he dicho guarda en secreto . Keep secret what I have said.
The thing being said is most important, so I would place that first: "Lo que me dijo el profesor finalmente lo entendí."
"Lo que he dicho guardalo en secreto." (This one is OK the way you did it originally as well).
