When to use "pero que"?

Question

In the dictionary it says that "pero que" => (uso enfático) pero que muy: una chica guapa, pero que muy guapa what you call a really pretty girl; a pretty girl and no mistake; hizo muy, pero que muy mal he was wrong, really, really wrong

I am not sure how this applies to this sentence: "El Universal destacó que "El Denis" había culpado al testigo protegido por este asesinato, pero que la PGR concedió más validez al testimonio proporcionado por Jennifer." The "normal" translation of ...pero que la PGR concedió más validez al testimonio proporcionado por Jennifer.. would be ...but the PGR gave more validity to the testimony provided by Jennifer" How does "pero que" make it different than "pero" by itself?

interesting question...I'd like to see the answer myself - PumpkinCalabaza, Aug 7, 2012

Answer 1

The reason why que is used is because of the verb. If you simplify the sentance it would be "el Universal destacó que el Denis había culpado... , pero (destacó) que la PGR concedió... "

Since the expression used here is "destacar que," the second part should match.

This is not el uso enfático of anything, it is similar to the difference between "I said that" and "I said."

Thanks unMica. Hadn't seen what you described before but it makes good sense. Thanks for a great explanation! - cdunn3, Aug 7, 2012

you're welcome, I'm glad it helps! - unMica, Aug 8, 2012