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Grammar : Using adjectives
Nearly All Adjectives Can Function as Other Part of Speech
In Spanish, almost any descriptive adjective (and a few others) can be used to function as a noun.
Typically, adjectives made into nouns are the equivalent of the English "____ one" or "____ person" as in the following examples:
azul (blue), el azul, la azul (the blue one)
pobre (poor), los pobres (the poor people)
nuevo (new), el nuevo, la nueva (the new one)
mexicano (Mexican), el mexicano, la mexicana (the Mexican) The gender and number will depend on what's being referred to:
¿Qué casa prefieres? —La blanca. ("Which house do you prefer?" "The white one.")
Había muchas fresas.
Compré las más frescas. (There were many strawberries. I bought the freshest ones.)
Había muchos plátanos. Compré los más frescos. (There were many bananas. I bought the freshest ones.)Sometimes, nouns made from adjectives take on meanings of their own, at least in certain contexts:
roto (torn), el roto (the tear)
mal (bad), el mal (evil, wrongful act, sickness)
perdido (lost), el perdido, la perdida (the reprobate, the lost soul)
decolorante (causing something to lose its color), el decolorante (bleach)
semejante (similar), los semejantes (fellow human beings)

Vocabulary: Idioms with Tener
Verb Often Signifies Concepts Other than 'To Have'
If there were a Top 10 list somewhere for Spanish verbs made versatile through idioms, tener would probably in that list. A wealth of phrases using tener are often used to indicate emotions or states of being, and in many of those tener can be translated as "to be" rather than the more literal "to have."
There are also numerous other idioms using tener. (As used here, an idiom is a phrase that has a meaning more or less independent of the words in the phrase). You'll run across them all the time in both print and conversation.
Perhaps the most common is the phrase tener que (usually in a conjugated form) followed by an infinitive and meaning "to have to": Tengo que salir. I have to leave.
Tendrás que comer. You will have to eat.
Following are some of the other common idioms using tener. Words in parentheses indicate that less generic words should normally be substituted:
Idiom: tener ... años Meaning: to be ... years old Example: Tengo 33 años. I'm 33 years old.
Idiom: tener ... de ancho/largo/altura Meaning: to be .... wide/long/tall Example: Tiene 23 centímetros de ancho It is 23 centimeters wide.
Idiom: tener por seguro Meaning: to rest assured Example: Ten por seguro que vamos al centro. Rest assured we are going downtown.
Idiom: tener sobre (algo) Meaning: to lean on (something) Example: El paraguas tenía sobre el coche. The umbrella was leaning on the car.
Idiom: no tener nada que ver con Meaning: to have nothing to do with Example: No tengo nada que ver con cazar. I have nothing to do with hunting.
Idiom: tener lugar Meaning: to take place Example: Tiene lugar la fiesta en mi casa. The party will take place in my home.
Idiom: tener en cuenta Meaning: to bear in mind Example: No tenía en cuenta la opinión de sus hijos. He didn't keep in mind the opinion of his children.

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