Español — The neuter article lo
Unlike el or la, lo is invariable and never accompanies a noun. With a masculine singular adjective it expresses an abstract idea: lo bueno, lo difícil. It also appears in lo que, lo de and in emphatic structures such as lo difícil que es.
How it works
lo + a masculine singular adjective turns it into an abstract noun: lo bueno ('the good part'), lo difícil ('the difficult thing'). lo que means 'what / that which' (lo que quieres), lo de refers to a known matter (lo de ayer 'that business from yesterday'), and lo más/menos + adjective marks a superlative idea (lo más importante).
Examples
| Construction | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| lo + adjetivo | lo bueno | the good thing / what is good |
| lo que | lo que quieres | what you want |
| lo de | lo de ayer | that business from yesterday |
| lo más + adjetivo | lo más importante | the most important thing |
| lo menos + adjetivo | lo menos esperado | the least expected thing |
| lo + adjetivo + que | lo difícil que es | how difficult it is |
Good to know
In the emphatic pattern lo + adjective + que, the adjective agrees in gender and number with the noun, even though lo never changes: lo difíciles que son las pruebas, lo altas que son. Do not confuse this article lo with the object pronoun lo ('it/him') in lo veo.