A couple questions about this sentence.

[createdamadman]

I have the sentence:


"Soy casi lo suficientemente alto como para andar en bicicleta".




First, I don't understand why "lo" is used before "suficientemente". It seems like there are plenty of examples with and without it. Are there any rules about when to use it and why it's used?


Second, why is "como" used before "para"? I feel like it could be omitted and the sentence would still make sense.

[Rusty]

The neuter article 'lo' is used to change an adjective into an abstract (idea). The adjective being turned into an abstract idea is 'alto', which is further modified with the adverb 'suficientemente'. The adverb 'casi' is not part of the abstract idea.
The abstract idea can be translated as 'sufficiently tall enough'.

'Como para' can be translated a number of ways, but it is common to see it after quantifiers like 'lo suficiente'. Here I think it's best translated 'in order to'. There's more information in this thread (http://forums.tomisimo.org/showthread.php?t=26989&highlight=como+para).

I'm almost sufficiently tall enough to ride a bike.