Que y Lo Que

Tengo una pregunta sobre "que" y "lo que" I have a question concerning "que" and "lo que" In the Rocket Spanish conversation course booklet, it has "Lo que quieres" as "What you want." However, when asking the question "what do you want," it uses "Que quieres?" Someone, please help me understand when "lo que" should be used as what as opposed to just "que." Gracias por tu ayuda.

This is a really tricky one, because the word "what" in English is used in a LOT of situations! Check out the number of uses in this definition by WordReference.com __http://www.wordreference.com/es/translation.asp?tranword=what__ It may help to think of it this way: In the phrase, *lo que quieres*, the entire phrase is acting as the subject. Here are some examples where* lo que* is needed. [list:1c6aimj4]*What is happening *is he's going to Canada tomorrow. *What I can't understand* is why he doesn't want to help. *What I wonder* is whether we're making the right decision. *What I want* is a huge party. *What I can do* is help you with it tomorrow. [/list:u:1c6aimj4] When just *que *is used, it acts completely on its own as the subject. It isn't functioning as part of a phrase. [list:1c6aimj4]*What* is happening? *What* can't you understand? *What *are you wondering about? *What *do you want? *What *can you do? [/list:u:1c6aimj4] Does that make sense?

Wow, muchas gracias. Esta estaba una respuesta clara, y ahora entiendo.