question about it and is it, (lo or es lo)

Question

i have a question: i saw this phrase :

•es muy bueno aunque no lo parezca -> it's very good, even if it doesn't look it

why not "es lo muy bueno"??? and why on some sentences that i saw "it" is not translated to lo, rather it is omitted?

Answer 1

That phrase literally means "It is very good even though it does no look like it."

The subject, it, is implied in both es and parezca. Lo is only needed in the second part of the phrase because it is both the subject and object, so you need two it's.

Answer 2

It's = it is. "It" is the subject of the sentence. Lo, on the other hand, is a direct object pronoun. Thus, here "lo" cannot replace "it" because an object cannot be a substitute for a subject, and putting "lo" in the sentence would make it wrong.

Es is a form of ser conjugated in the 3rd person, whose possible subjects are he, she, you (formal), and it. Therefore, es, based on context, is already understood as "it is."

su hermana es muy guapa pero él no lo es, here can i use su hermana es my guapa pero el no es??? - MEALazarte, Sep 15, 2011

"Lo" is the pronoun used to replace the attribute of a copulative verb (a verb followed by adjectives or nouns that refer back to the subject, such as be, look, seem, etc.), whether that attribute is masculine or feminine, singular or plural. - Deanski, Sep 15, 2011

"el no es" would be incomplete because it lacks that attribute (guapo/a). You need to replace that attribute w/ something if you don't want to mention it again (to avoid redundancy), and that is what that lo is for.:) - Deanski, Sep 15, 2011

Answer 3

You have to remember that when "it" is the subject it is already implied when using a verb in the third person...¿de que color es la mesa?...es roja...what color is the table? It's red. Lo is only used when talking about the direct object "it" in the masculine singular form. Yo veo el libro...Lo veo...I see the book...I see it.