o de / iso de
Referring to a Known Matter: O De and Iso De
O de and iso de mean the matter of or that business with: Iso de madrugar non é para min (this getting-up-early business is not for me).
How It Works
Talking about a known matter
Speakers often refer to an event or topic both of them know, without naming it fully. Galician uses the neuter o or the neuter demonstratives followed by de:
- + time word: O de onte foi un erro (what happened yesterday was a mistake).
- + noun: Xa sabes o do coche? (have you heard about the car?). De + o becomes do, as usual: see de + o = do.
- + infinitive: Iso de madrugar non é para min (this getting-up-early business is not for me).
- + que-clause: Iso de que pechan a escola, é verdade? (this talk about the school closing, is it true?).
O, iso or aquilo?
- O de is neutral: Contoume o da voda (she told me about the wedding).
- Iso de often sounds a little distant or doubtful, as if repeating what someone said: Iso de que non hai cartos, non o creo (this story that there is no money, I don't believe it).
- Aquilo de points to something further back in time: Aínda me acordo daquilo de Vigo (I still remember that business in Vigo).
Never lo de. The Spanish form lo de is not Galician. Use o de.
For o + adjective or o que + clause, see neuter o before adjectives and que.
Examples (6)
- O de onte foi un erro.
What happened yesterday was a mistake.
O de onte sums up the whole event of yesterday.
- Iso de madrugar non é para min.
This getting-up-early business is not for me.
Iso de + infinitive names an activity as a topic.
- Xa sabes o do coche?
Have you heard about the car?
De + o becomes do: o do coche.
- Contoume o da voda.
She told me about the wedding.
O da voda means the news or story about the wedding.
- Iso de que pechan a escola, é verdade?
This talk about the school closing, is it true?
Iso de que + clause repeats something people are saying.
- Aínda me acordo daquilo de Vigo.
I still remember that business in Vigo.
Aquilo de points to something further back; de + aquilo becomes daquilo.
Common Mistakes
Using the Spanish article lo.
Lo de onte foi un erro.O de onte foi un erro.Galician has no article lo here; the neuter article is o.
Using the masculine demonstrative ese instead of neuter iso.
Ese de madrugar non é para min.Iso de madrugar non é para min.A matter or idea is neuter, so it takes iso, not ese.
Forgetting to join de with the article.
Xa sabes o de o coche?Xa sabes o do coche?De + o always joins as do in writing here.
How It Connects
Learn This First
O de and iso de identify a known matter without naming a concrete object.
Related Patterns
- Neuter o for Ideas
The neuter o that stands for a whole idea or matter.
Level 2 - isto / iso / aquiloNeuter Demonstratives
The neuter demonstratives used in iso de and aquilo de.
Level 1 - de + o = doContractions of De with the Article
Explains o do coche and o da voda.
Level 1 - deste / neste / daquelContractions with Demonstratives
Explains contractions such as daquilo.
Level 2
Words in This Pattern
Practice o de / iso de in Bubblegum
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