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The Neuter Article Lo

Definite articles don't end with el, la, los, and las. There's also a neuter (non-gender) article, lo. How is it used?
Lo can be combined with a masculine singular adjective to create an abstract noun. English translations usually involve the words, "thing" or "part":

Lo mejor fue el final.
The best part was the ending.

Lo bueno es que no hay tarea.
What's good is that there's no homework.

Lo más importante es ser sincero.
The most important thing is to be sincere.

As I re-read my own thread, I find things that I still trip over. I repeatedly forgot this simple rule on my last trip as I was trying to say "the best part" or "the most important thing" ... I had to keep using "parte" or "cosa", which I knew wasn't right, and sounded stupid. Thanks to ME, from ME for the reminder about this topic!!!

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Literal translation of " Lo siento "

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Softbob

There is nothing either good or bad
but thinking makes it so.
HAMLET

Some adjectives can come before or after nouns. The position of the adjective actually changes its meaning:

adjective:...............before noun:............after noun:

antiguo..................former, old.............ancient, old
cierto...................same, certain...........sure, certain
diferente................various.................different
grande...................great...................large
mismo....................same....................itself, very
nuevo....................different, another......new
pobre....................pitiful.................poor
propio...................own.....................proper
raro.....................rare....................strange
triste...................dreadful................unhappy
único....................only....................unique
viejo....................former..................old, aged

** this is clearly not an exact science, because I know that saying "mi amigo viejo" and "mi viejo amigo" mean different things. "viejo amigo" means "old friend", but not "former friend" which has a totally opposite meaning.

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Good question as I'd been grappling with varous apology forms recently.

Siento is the the "I" form of the infinitive verb sientir. Which can mean feel (emotionally), regret, or be sorry to... among probably other things.

I don't think "lo" in this case is functioning as an article. Which could literally be "the sorry" or "the regret". Instead, I believe it is operating as the pronoun "it" with "it" being whatever the sorry or regret was for.

"(I) regret it"

My Venezulean tutor futher explained that while "lo siento" is a deep form of apology... it's used when the bad thing is not necessairly attributable to you... a form of condolance. I heard your uncle died in a fire, lo siento.

Discúlpame, I was told, is more aporopriate when you are taking fault. The "me" being added to "discúlpa" for emphasis.

I'm probably wrong and if that is the case then, well, discúlpame.

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I heard similar. "Perdonname" when it's yer fault but not real bad, and "con permiso" when you are trying to squeeze by people in the street (where we usually use "pardon me" in English).


"lo" is the Direct Object Pronoun in the phrase "lo siento". I believe it is more associated to "I am feeling it" than "I regret it", which is another thing entirely. So far, Spanish, to me, seems devoid of affectation in this regard. You 'regret' things that happen to you, but you associate with the bad things happening to others (empathy), and you "feel" it affecting you as it is them.

"I regret that your uncle has died" ... very distant and cold ... lawyer-speak.
"I feel your loss" ... more empathic.

In English we say "I am sorry for your loss", which is noncommital.

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Good stuff BD. It might be one of those things where it just dosen't map directly too well but knowing the general space/context for it is good enough.

I get so wrapped around the axle on these piece parts it slows my overall learning.

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Think of it this way, the exact meaning of words and the meaning in expressions will always be a problem for a learner of a language. Some expressions border on what we might call slang and will vary in different countries.
Think of a person learning English trying to figure out what is meant by " I get so wrapped around the axle "

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Softbob

There is nothing either good or bad
but thinking makes it so.
HAMLET

HD, Isra, spot on. It is fascinating to me how much a person's language affects how they see themselves and the rest of the world.

The simple difference between "I am hungry" versus "Yo tengo hambre" explains some of what we term 'Latin culture' and attitude. Me fascina.

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I learned an interjection word: ojalá!

It translates to how we use "hopefully", or "i hope".

ojalá (deseo de que algo ocurra) Let's hope, I hope
(informal) hopefully
(religious) God willing
Ojalá que me toque la lotería. I hope I win the lottery! / Hopefully I'll win the lottery.

I still get confused when to use the "que" word, so until I know better, I assume that when the interjection is followed by a prepositional phrase, I will proceed the phrase with "que".

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Strange phrases to study: (I'll add as I find them in chats.)

que chevere! ... Cool! (MDE)

sería genial ... It will be great! (MDE)

Estoy exitada para verte ... I am excited to see you.

Estoy exitado ... I am turned on.

que placer! ... What a pleasure!

¡Cómo no! ... Sure!/ certainly!

¡Por supuesto! ... Of course!

¡Adelante! ... Come on in!

¡Siéntese! ... Sit down.

¡Eso! ... Exactly. ("Eso" is the neutral demonstrative pronoun.)

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Dealing with people: who do you like! Gustar, Agradar, Caer.

Using gustar in reference to a person suggests attraction. This holds true talking about someone else to a third party, or direct to the subject person.

Using agradar direct to the subject suggests friendliness.

Using {Caer} bien/mal states to a third party how you feel/relate to another. You do not seem to use this direct to the subject person. (Please correct me if you have seen this typically used.)

"me agradas!" - I like you, you are a nice person, I enjoy your company. (It pleases me to know/be with/be around you.)

"me gustas!" - I like you, I would like to be more than friends. (You are pleasing to me in a more carnal sense.)

"Yo Cae bien Sofia." - I like Sofia, I am friendly with Sofia. (Sofia falls well with me).

"me gusta Sofia!" - I am attracted to Sofia. (Sofia pleases me).

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las diferencias entre "agradar" y "placer"

"Placer" es un sustantivo que significa "Pleasure". "Agradar" significa "Gustar" o "Dar placer".

Ejemplos: "Me agrada esto" = "Me gusta esto" = "I like this"

"¡Muy buena comida! ¡Qué placer!" = "¡Delicious food! ¡Such a pleasure!"

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I am intrigued by imperative verbs that relate directly back to me. I posted on how to form them (imperative commands) but I want to compile a list of ones that are most common.

déme - give me.

digame / dime - tell me.

chupame - suck me. (I've heard it as insults in mexican-made novellas - one guy to another).

lléveme / llévenos - take me / take us (somewhere)

What other imperative commands like this are so common that you should know them by heart?

Edited to remove incorrect rules for pronounciation.

New ones:

Vete! - get out of here (get lost!) - this is in the Tú informal form.
Muestrame - show me! (excellent phrase right after a CIM!)

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