Substitution with の
の can stand in for a noun you have already said, like "one" in English: the red one, the big one, mine. After a verb it names the action: running, the one I bought.
の instead of repeating the noun
After an adjective or a possessive, の takes the noun's place. 赤いの is "the red one"; 私の is "mine".
赤いのがいい。
Reading: あかいのがいい。
The red one is good. (I'd like the red one.)
これは私のです。
Reading: これはわたしのです。
This one is mine.
大きいのはありますか？
Reading: おおきいのはありますか？
Do you have a bigger one?
After verbs, too
A plain-form verb plus の names the act or the thing: 走るの (running). With が or は after it, it works like English "-ing".
走るのが好きです。
Reading: はしるのがすきです。
I like running.
昨日買ったのはこれです。
Reading: きのうかったのはこれです。
The one I bought yesterday is this one.
The other のs
Same particle, three jobs: possession (私の本, my book), substitution (私の, mine) and turning a verb into a noun (走るの, running). What comes before and after tells them apart.
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