I didn't know how beautiful they were. (grammar question)

Question

I have just encountered -- for the first time -- the pattern of lo + adjective + que being used to mean how + adjective.

Example:

I didn't know how beautiful you were = No sabía lo bello que eres.

.

Now, my question concerns the "lo bello" part...

What if "you" is a woman? Would it be lo bello, lo bella, or la bella?

My guess: No sabía la bella que eres.

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What if the sentence was "I didn't know how beautiful they were" (and the group was all women)?

Would it be lo bello, lo bellos, lo bella, lo bellas, los bellas, or las bellas?

My guess: No sabía las bellas que eran.

.

But I don't know. I see it all different ways on the Internet.

Answer 1

Hi webdunce!

The article is invariable:

Lo bella que eres

Lo bellas que son

Lo bellos que son

Lo bello que es

Thank you, thank you!!! :)) - webdunce, Sep 26, 2011

Gracias Cogu - thank goodness you're back je je :) - Kiwi-Girl, Sep 26, 2011

jajaja lol - swalkej650, Sep 27, 2011

Answer 2

I believe Butt & Benjamin whoever they may be can be believed as they are often quoted as giving a definitive answer to a grammatical question

And as they back up our lovely Laura all the more reason to believe that this is the correct information je je :

Lo may also be used adverbially before an adjective that shows agreement with a noun, being equivalent to the relative adverb 'how', as in lo buenas que son 'how good they (f.pl.) are' (Butt & Benjamin (2004),

Yeah that 'Butt' is very right jejejejee. Here's an example said by a native speaker "con lo buenas que somos". - SpanishPal, Sep 26, 2011

excellent, gracias SP :) - Kiwi-Girl, Sep 26, 2011

An adverb? Hmmm.....interesting. - webdunce, Sep 26, 2011

Kiwi, you are the research Queen!! - territurtle, Sep 27, 2011

lol Terri :) - Kiwi-Girl, Sep 27, 2011

Answer 3

I guess I could have just looked up LO.

It is used before adjectives, when by an ellipsis they are used in a general sense, referring to a thing either masculine or feminine, singular or plural. It is used also with reference to whole sentences.

Another seriously troubling question put to rest. Lord, I love learning! Thanks Webdunce!! - territurtle, Sep 27, 2011

I had to look up ellipsis so just in case someone else who comes along might wonder - ellipsis: the omission from a sentence or other construction of one or more words that would complete or clarify the construction, - Kiwi-Girl, Sep 27, 2011

Answer 4

Yay I finally found one article that uses a feminine adjective to describe 'her'

The Neuter Article "lo"-- Spanish Lesson N.9

An equivalent form in english is used with adjectives or adverbs used as nouns. In Spanish "lo" always precedes the masculine singular form of the adjective or adverb, this article refers to abstract ideas and has only one form.

Examples:

Me sorprende lo bonita que es ................ It surprises me how beautiful she is.

Lo malo de este carro son los frenos.........The bad thing about this car is the brakes.

Lo justo vencera ......................................... the Just (side) will overcome.

Me comporte lo mejor que pude .............. I behaved the best I could.

Me gusta lo dificil..........................................I like the difficult things.

Answer 5

hey how do you say que tal in english

Just about any casual greeting will work. How ya doing? or What's up? are two good ones for Qué tal. - webdunce, Sep 27, 2011