📖LearnModule 13 · Lesson 2 of 30Proficient User · CEFR C2, first halfUnit 1 · El énfasis
Lo que… es
Module 13 of the free Spanish course (CEFR C2, first half), lesson 2 of 30: To put a whole idea in the spotlight, Spanish frames it. On this page: 10 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line, the conjugation table and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's QR.
The words
Spanish
English
Say it
lo que me sorprende es el silencio
what surprises me is the silence
loh keh meh sohr-PREHN-deh ehs ehl see-LEHN-syoh
lo que destaco es el enfoque
what I single out is the approach
loh keh dehs-TAH-koh ehs ehl ehn-FOH-keh
de lo que se trata es de confianza
what it is about is trust
deh loh keh seh TRAH-tah ehs deh kohn-FYAHN-sah
sorprender
to take by surprise
sohr-prehn-DEHR
destacar
to single out
dehs-tah-KAR
el enfoque
the approach
ehl ehn-FOH-keh
el marco
the frame
ehl MAR-koh
la coma
the comma
lah KOH-mah
esencial
essential
eh-sehn-SYAHL
nosotros destacamos el enfoque
we single out the approach
noh-SOH-trohs dehs-tah-KAH-mohs ehl ehn-FOH-keh
Respellings follow the course’s say-it key; the stressed syllable is in capitals. Print this lesson’s flashcards (PDF) — the words on the front, the English and respelling on the back.
La regla · The rule
To put a whole idea in the spotlight, Spanish frames it. Lo que me sorprende es el silencio. Lo que destaco es el enfoque. De lo que se trata es de confianza.
Y también · And also
The repeated es is the frame, not decoration, and a preposition inside the idea is repeated on both sides: DE lo que se trata es DE confianza. Written without the frame the sentence loses exactly the emphasis it was built to carry.
Ojo · Watch out
lo que me sorprende es el silencio: the second es is the frame. A preposition is repeated on both sides of it — de lo que se trata es de confianza, con lo que me quedo es con el enfoque.
destacar, presente — the table
yo destaco · tú destacas · él/ella/usted destaca · nosotros destacamos · ustedes destacan · ellos/ellas destacan
Do it now — on paper
Say all 10 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the Spanish spelling alone — begin with lo que me sorprende es el silencio.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the Spanish.
Write out destacar, presente in full from memory, every person, and check each form against the table above.
This free course is the reading half. The writing half — write-in lessons, daily practice pages with built-in review, self-checks and a full answer key — is the companion workbook series, The Spanish Ladder: one workbook per module, fifteen in all, released band by band with the Basic band (Modules 1–5) first.
Keep these words
Turn this lesson’s words into flashcards, then space your reviews — the two habits the research behind our study guides backs hardest.