What does "lo" stand for in this sentence?

Question

Context: A mother is speaking to her daughter about a dying plant.

Sentence: La planta podría haber crecido bien, pero no la regaste lo suficiente.

What does the pronoun "lo" represent in the above sentence?

I don´t get it. The person being talked to is female and "planta" is a feminine noun, so what is the "lo" for?

Great question! - francobollo, May 19, 2013

I simply adore how you formated your sentence! I give you a plus one joyfully. - leesama, May 19, 2013

Answer 1

Lo suficiente - suficiente is a neutral adjective (it's neither masculine nor feminine). Lo can be used as a neutral definite article before an adjective to make an abstract noun.

La planta is not being modified by the adjective suficiente. The verb regar (to water) is.

Other examples:

Lo barato sale caro. (You get what you pay for)

Lo importante es competir, no ganar (Competing is more important than winning).

I hope this helps!

Thank you. I was able to use the terms in your answer ("lo" as "neutral defininite article") to find an article. In my sentence, it almost seems (to me) like "lo sufficiente" makes the adverb "suficiently" rather than an abstract noun. - Trieltor, May 19, 2013

The adverb would be suficientemente. Suficiente is definitely an adjective. But I am glad you found a reference that helped you understand the use of Lo to express an abstract expression. - francobollo, May 19, 2013

Thanks again. I thought about it some more. It makes sense, but throws me off. "lo suficiente" is "the sufficient" which is whatever abstract amount (a noun) that would have been sufficient. - Trieltor, May 19, 2013

Thanks Franco - I have always just looked at the adjective as a noun "You did not give it the sufficiente" for example. - ian-hill, May 19, 2013