usage of "cosa que" for "which"

Question

Apropos of ' "Lo que" vs "la cosa que" ', I sometimes see "cosa que" used to mean "which", as in

Querían detenerme por robo, cosa que no hice.

Is this usage correct? If so, is there a lesson that discusses it?

More examples here:

https://context.reverso.net/translation/spanish-english/%2C+cosa+que

Thanks!

Answer

Hola Alan
Yes, that is very common. It's colloquial and it's as if we said "algo que...":
Querían detenerme por robo, cosa que (=algo que) no hice.
I noted it down to see if it can be included in our content. 
Other examples could be:

Me cancelaron el viaje, cosa que me fastidió mucho.
They cancelled my trip, which annoyed me a lot.
Le pedí a mi marido que comprara vino, cosa que no ha hecho.
I asked my husband to buy some wine, which he has not done. 
Andrea le contó a Clara mi secreto, cosa que me decepcionó profundamente.
Andrea told Clara my secret, which disappointed me deeply.

Saludos
Inma

Answer

Querían detenerme por robo, cosa que (=algo que) no hice.They wanted to arrest me for theft, which I didn’t do.The usage of cosa que refers to the theft or the whole idea of them wanting to arrest me for theft?based on translation, it seem to refer cosa que to the theft itself and not the whole idea of arresting.if so, it will be different from what cosa que is used for?

Answer

Querían detenerme por robo, cosa que (=algo que) no hice.They wanted to arrest me for theft, which I didn’t do.The usage of cosa que refers to the theft or the whole idea of them wanting to arrest me for theft?based on translation, it seem to refer cosa que to the theft itself and not the whole idea of arresting.if so, it will be different from what cosa que is used for?

Answer

Hi AshlynIn that sentence, using cosa que, it is referring to the whole idea more than the actual theft, the whole idea being wanting to arrest me for theft. Inma