Phrase · 🧲 Persuasion and rhetoric
Lo que yo me pregunto es quién va a pagar todo esto.
What I'd like to know is who is going to pay for all this.
C2raising a pointed questionAudio · coming soon
Why every word is where it is
Lo1determinerwhatel · definiteque1pronoun(that)yo1pronounI1st sing. · subjectme2pronoun(myself)yo · 1stpregunto2verbwonder (lit. ask)preguntar · present · 1st sing.es1verbisser · present · 3rd sing.quién2pronounwhovaverbis goingir · present · 3rd sing.aprepositiontopagarverbpay forinfinitivetododeterminerallmasc. · sing.estopronounthiseste.
- Lo → es: lo que … es: pseudo-cleft
- me → pregunto: preguntarse: wonder
- va → pagar: ir a + infinitive
- todo → esto: todo esto: all this
Why it's built this way
The notes match the numbers above.
- 1Pseudo-cleft lo que yo me pregunto es… puts the awkward question in focus; the explicit yo sets the speaker apart. Emphasis and information structure: clefts and lo … que →
- 2preguntarse = to wonder. The indirect question keeps the accent: quién. Reported speech I and indirect questions →
Variations
- Lo que me pregunto yo es quién va a pagar todo esto.
- Yo me pregunto quién va a pagar todo esto.
- La pregunta es: ¿quién va a pagar todo esto?