This one’s useful when you need to explain, justify, or soften what you’re about to say.
It often translates well to one of either:
👉 The thing is… / It’s just that…
💡 Yep, it’s just the longer version of the ever-popular es que!
And you’re actually gonna hear es que a lot more in the wild, as it’s the one native speaker’s generally reach for when prefixing quick excuses.
🌪️ When to whip it out
Whenever you need to explain yourself, give a reason, or add context:
Lo que pasa es que llegué tarde porque no había metro.
The thing is, I was late because the subway wasn’t running.