o importante / o que
Neuter O Before Adjectives and Que
Put o before an adjective to talk about an idea instead of a thing: o importante (the important thing), o mellor (the best thing). O que means "what": O que queres é imposible (what you want is impossible).
How It Works
O + adjective. The phrase names a quality or one part of a situation:
- O importante é participar. (The important thing is to take part.)
- O mellor foi a comida. (The best part was the food.)
- O malo é que non temos tempo. (The bad thing is that we have no time.)
The adjective is always masculine singular, because it does not describe any noun. A importante would mean "the important one", a feminine person or thing.
O que. O + que means "what" or "the thing that" when there is no noun before it: Isto é o que quero (this is what I want), Non entendo o que di (I do not understand what he is saying). Compare a que and os que, which refer to people or things of a known gender: os que chegaron tarde (the ones who arrived late).
Related neuter words. This o is related to the pronoun that stands for an idea, as in Xa o sei (I already know), and to the neuter demonstratives isto, iso and aquilo.
Galician, not Spanish. Spanish uses a special article lo here (lo importante). Galician simply uses o. The form lo does exist in Galician, but only as the second form of the article after certain words, never as a neuter article.
Examples (6)
- O importante é que estades todos ben.
The important thing is that you are all well.
Word by Word: The important is that are-you all well.
- O mellor da viaxe foi a xente.
The best part of the trip was the people.
Word by Word: The best of-the trip was the people.
- O que queres é imposible.
What you want is impossible.
Word by Word: The that want-you is impossible.
- Non entendín o que dixo o profesor.
I didn't understand what the teacher said.
Word by Word: Not understood-I the that said the teacher.
- O malo é que mañá traballo.
The bad thing is that I'm working tomorrow.
Word by Word: The bad is that tomorrow work-I.
- Fixemos todo o posible.
We did everything possible.
Word by Word: Did-we all the possible.
Common Mistakes
Using the Spanish article lo.
Lo importante é participar.O importante é participar.Galician has no neuter article lo. The ordinary article o does this job.
Making the adjective feminine.
A importante é que chegues ben.O importante é que chegues ben.To say "the important thing", use o and a masculine adjective. A importante would mean "the important woman" or "the important one", which is not what you want to say.
Leaving out o before que.
Isto é que quero.Isto é o que quero.When there is no noun before the relative, "what" is o que. Without o the sentence does not work.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Neuter o turns a description or clause into a reference to an idea.
Related Patterns
- Neuter o for Ideas
The neuter pronoun o, which also refers to ideas rather than nouns.
Level 2 - o que / a que / os queRelatives with the Article
The same structure with a gender: the one or ones who.
Level 4 - o que Referring to a ClauseReferring to a Whole Clause
O que can also refer back to a whole idea.
Level 5 - o de / iso deReferring to a Known Matter: O De and Iso De
Another neuter use of o before de.
Level 4 - Free Relatives: quen / o queFree Relatives: Quen and O Que
Free relatives such as o que and quen, with no noun before them.
Level 5
Words in This Pattern
Practice o importante / o que in Bubblegum
Poppy, your AI tutor, writes Galician lessons at your level. Tap any grammar point in a lesson to see its full explanation.
