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Learn about Spanish adjectives as nouns
In Spanish, adjectives sometimes become nouns. This happens when someone refers to a noun using an adjective that describes it.
For example:
-¿Te gustan esas gorras? -Sí, pero prefiero la roja.-Do you like those hats? -Yes, but I prefer the red one.
Notice how the noun is omitted (el chico alto me gusta). When we know what we are referring to we just need the definite article + the adjective. Remember that the adjective agrees (masculine, feminine, singular, plural) with the noun it is referring to.
el/la/los/las + adjective
the + adjective + one/ones
Remember that some colour adjectives have the same form for masculine and feminine, e.g. el verde / la verde. Here is a list of common colours.
In Spanish some descriptive adjectives take the form of de + noun, to describe patterns or material, for example. In this case the rule is the same as above. We place the definite article in front of the adjectival form.
If we are referring to an idea, something neutral, something abstract, rather than something physical, then we use the article "lo":
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