Using adjectives as nouns in Spanish
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Sign up for freeSpanish adjectives can generally serve as nouns as well.
Generally, the English equivalent is: the/a + adjective + one
Examples:
- Prefiero la blanca. (I prefer the white one.)
- Ví un gato blanco y uno naranja. (I saw a white cat and a ginger one.)
Lesson outline
HideHow to form nouns with adjectives
To form nouns with adjectives, you need to add an article (definite or indefinite) before the adjective.
| Adjective | Masculine/Singular | Masculine/Plural | Feminine/Singular | Feminine/Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| feo (ugly) | el feo | los feos | la fea | las feas |
| gordo (fat) | el gordo | los gordos | los gordas | las gordas |
| sabio (wise) | el sabio | los sabios | las sabias | los sabios |
The article must agree in gender and number with the noun it refers to.
Example:
Me gusta la corbata azul, pero prefiero la negra. (I like the blue tie, but I prefer the black one.)
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Uses
Adjectives are used as nouns when referring to a noun that was recently mentioned.
Example:
¿Te gusta la bufanda rosa o la bufanda escocesa? Me gusta la escocesa. (Do you like the pink scarf or the tartan scarf? I like the tartan one.)
To express general or abstract senses, the neuter article lo has to be placed before the adjective.
Th English equivalent is: the + adjective + thing or what's where.
Examples:
- Lo importante es que estamos juntos. (What's matter/The important thing is that we are together.)
- Lo bonito de esta calle es el castillo. (What's beautiful about this street is the castle.)