De lo delicado

De lo delicado
 

Hi,

Ben se adelantó un paso y Beverly volvió a
sorprenderse de lo delicado de sus movimientos a
pesar de su gordura.

The meaning is pretty obvious; I just can't figure out the lo thing grammatically.

The neuter pronoun lo has the effect of making a noun out of the adjective it precedes.
lo delicado = the delicateness

Lo bueno de esta pregunta es que nos muestra lo interestante de la lengua española. I couldn't resist adding a couple of examples :)

Thanks!

So it is some kind of an alternative to -dad, is it?

I just stumbled on minuciosidad :)

Is lo minucioso possible?

Su minuciosidad means His metuculousness, more or less, right?

Can I replace minuciosidad with lo minucioso in this sentence?

Yes, lo before any adjective changes the adjective to a noun.
So, meticulousness can be said in Spanish either way you proposed.

To the extent that Su lo minucioso is legitimate? Looks scary.

:eek: No, you can't do that. But you can add 'de su ...' or 'suyo' after the adjective, with some attention given to what you're trying to accomplish. You shouldn't think that using this structure makes the adjective a noun. It only makes it act like a noun.

You can say "...volvió a sorprenderse de la delicadeza de sus movimientos"

As Rusty says, they're not interchangeable phrases, but equivalent structures:

- Este examen me preocupa por lo difícil que es.
Este examen me preocupa por su dificultad.
-> I'm worried about this exam because it's very difficult.

- No me gusta invitar a Juan por lo impertinente que se pone.
No me gusta invitar a Juan por su impertinencia.
-> I don't like inviting Juan over because he's so impertinent.

- Agradece lo bueno que tienes.
Agradece las cosas buenas que tienes.
Be thankful for the good things you have.

- Voy a ser claro, en lo posible.
Voy a ser claro, en mis posibilidades.
I'll be as clear as possible (for me).

- No quiero entrar a ese cuarto por lo sucio que está.
No quiero entrar a ese cuarto porque está muy sucio.
I don't want to go into that room because it's too dirty.