Equivalent of “like” in the context of “it was like…”; very common “muletilla” (filler word) in Mexico, especially in the “fresa” way of speaking.
Used to lead up to descriptions of something; literally to say that something was “of ___”. “Era de que” = “it was like…”
Dequeísmo
See also: queísmo
Dequeísmo is adding a de before que where standard Spanish doesn’t use one. It’s the mirror image of queísmo, which is dropping a de that standard Spanish does require.
It happens most with verbs of saying and thinking, which normally take que directly:
“Me dijo de que no iba a venir.” (Standard: “Me dijo que no iba a venir.”)
She told me (that) she wasn’t coming.
“Pienso de que es mejor así.” (Standard: “Pienso que es mejor así.”)
I think (that) it’s better this way.
“Le dijo la morra de que una de las amigas iban tres atrás.”
The girl told her that one of the friends… there were three of them in the back.
The line between the two is blurry. Speakers who use de que as a muletilla constantly also slip it in after decir, and a sentence can start as reported speech and turn into a reenactment halfway through. So both uses are tagged here.
Textbooks treat it as an error, but it’s extremely common in casual speech across Latin America, especially in Mexico.
Examples
“Era de flojera, porque había veces que yo solo quería bailar, de que: ‘Güey, noche de chicos, vamos a bailar’.” reel
“Literal, dije: ‘Jamás sería gay, de que no, no me atrae esto’.” reel