Turning Adjectives Into Nouns

In Spanish, almost any descriptive adjective (and a few others) can be used to function as a noun.

Typically, adjectives made into nouns are the equivalent of the English "____ one" or "____ person" as in the following examples:

• azul (blue), el azul, la azul (the blue one)
• pobre (poor), los pobres (the poor people)
• nuevo (new), el nuevo, la nueva (the new one)
• mexicano (Mexican), el mexicano, la mexicana (the Mexican)

The gender and number will depend on what's being referred to:

• ¿Qué casa prefieres? —La blanca. ("Which house do you prefer?" "The white one.")
• Había muchas fresas. Compré las más frescas. (There were many strawberries. I bought the freshest ones.)
• Había muchos plátanos. Compré los más frescos. (There were many bananas. I bought the freshest ones.)

Sometimes, nouns made from adjectives take on meanings of their own, at least in certain contexts:

• roto (torn), el roto (the tear)
• mal (bad), el mal (evil, wrongful act, sickness)
• perdido (lost), el perdido, la perdida (the reprobate, the lost soul)
• decolorante (causing something to lose its color), el decolorante (bleach)
• semejante (similar), los semejantes (fellow human beings)

The adjective-turned-noun is in the neuter gender when the adjective is turned into an abstract noun or when the adjective-turned-noun is not referring to a specific person or thing. The singular neuter definite article is lo; in plural, the neuter is the same form as the masculine, with a definite article of los. Such neuter nouns are translated in a variety of ways, depending on the context:

• Fuera lo viejo, venga lo nuevo. (Out with the old, in with the new.)
• Lo importante es que tenemos la oportunidad. (The important thing is that we have the opportunity.)
• Los interesantes son los intangibles. (What are interesting are the intangibles.)
• Te regalo lo tuyo. (I am giving you what's yours.)