What is the neuter article LO?
You have already heard about the Spanish determinate articles (el, la, los, las), and you know that they have to agree in gender a number with the noun they accompany: el árbol, la flor, los libros, las preguntas, but do you know that we also have the neuter article «lo»? Lo is a neuter article, i.e. neither masculine nor feminine, which is not used with nouns. Instead, it can be used:
1. With a masculine singular adjective or past participle to for an abstract noun:
Lo mejor es que es muy barato. (The best thing is that it is very cheap.)
Lo importante es que no nos ha visto. (The important thing is that he hasn’t seen us.)
Visto lo ocurrido has tenido suerte. (In view of what has happened, you’re lucky.)
2. With and adjective or adverb followed by que to intensify the phrase. The adjective agrees with the noun:
¿Has visto lo guapa que es? (Have you see how beautiful she is?)
Puedo entender lo preocupado que estás. (I can understand how worried you are.)
3. It is also used with de, as an indefinite pronoun, to refer to something already known about:
Lo de ayer no fue importante. (What happened yesterday was not important.)
Lo de Marta ha sido imperdonable. (What happen with Martha has been unforgettable.)
4. With que, as a relative pronoun, meaning what:
Lo que más me preocupa es la salud de mis hijos. (What worried me most is my children health.)
Lo que menos me interesa es ver la televisión. (What interests me less is watching TV.)
Phrases with the neuter article lo
The article «LO» makes part of many useful phrases: por lo general (generally); a lo lejos (in the distance); a lo mejor (maybe), por lo menos (at least), por lo tanto (thefore), por lo visto (apparently)…
Practice with the article «LO»
Now let’s practice with some quizzes what you have learned and remember you can contact your tutor with any question you have. Don’t you have a Spanish personal tutor yet?