Meaning of lo

Buenos días Shirley S.

Great question! In the sentence “Como si ella no lo fuera”, the “lo” is a pronoun that refers back to the idea of “ser un cobarde” (“being a coward”).

So literally, it means: “As if she weren’t one [=a coward]”.
The “lo” here is standing in for the whole concept of “cobarde”.

This is very common in Spanish — using “lo” to replace an adjective or a whole quality, not just a direct object noun.

So the ironic reproach is: “Carmen thinks you’re a coward. – As if she weren’t one herself!”

I hope this clarifies how “lo” works in this context — it doesn’t translate literally, but it helps Spanish speakers avoid repeating the whole phrase.

Hasta pronto

Silvia