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Artículo neutro
In addition to definite and indefinite articles, Spanish has a neuter article: lo. It’s invariable and can be used in front of just about any adjective in order to express something abstract or a quality.
Por ejemplo …
| lo fácil | the easy thing, part | |
| lo bueno | the good thing | |
| lo bello | what’s beautiful | |
| lo justo | what is just | |
| lo mejor | the best part |
Lo + adjective = The ___ thing
Lo + adjective is usually translated in English as "The (adjective) thing/part/one/style" or "What is (adjective)."
Por ejemplo …
| Lo bueno nunca es fácil, lo fácil nunca es bueno. | What is good is never easy, what is easy is never good. | |
| No viste lo mejor de la película. | You didn’t see the best part of the movie. | |
| Lo importante es que estamos juntos. | What’s important is that we are together. | |
| Me gusta lo azúl. | I like the blue one. | |
| Vestís a lo americano. | You dress in the American style/like an American. | |
| More examples |
Lo + adjective / adverb + que = How ___(!)
The construction lo + adjective or adverb + que means "How (adjective)":
| Veo lo importante que es. | I see how important it is. | |
| Olvidé lo bello que eres. | I forgot how beautiful you are. | |
| ¿Comprendes lo fácil que es? | Do you understand how easy it is? | |
| ¡No sabes lo feliz que estoy! | You don’t know how happy I am! | |
| More examples |
Lo de (que)
When referring back to something that was said previously, the neuter article is used in the constructions lo de and lo de que. The meaning of both phrases is exactly the same, but whether to include que or not depends on the grammar that follows – learn more.
Lo de + adverb | infinitive | noun
Lo de que + indicative | subjunctive
Por ejemplo…
| – José no trabaja mañana. | – José isn’t working tomorrow. | |
| – Lo de mañana me sorprende. – Lo de no trabajar me sorprende. – Lo de José me sorprende. |
– That thing about tomorrow surprises me. – That thing about not working surprises me. – That thing about José surprises me. |
|
| – Lo de que no trabaja me sorprende. – Lo de que no trabaje me sorprende. |
– That thing about him not working surprises me. |
Neuter Article Quiz
Think you’ve got it? Test yourself on the Spanish neuter article with this fill-in-the-blanks exercise:
Note: You must be logged into your Progress with Lawless Spanish account to take this test. If you don’t have one, sign up – it’s free!
Lo is also a neuter object pronoun.
Related lessons
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