Ola patrice29,
These *are* very confusing terms! (Please note I have ommitted
accent marks and the opening punctuation, as it is too difficult from
a laptop to insert such characters. The example pages I have posted
below clearly show the correct accents and punctuation)
Simply,
aquel/aquella/aquello is used for persons/places/things that are an
immeasureable non-specific distance from the speaker.
Ese is used when things are closer to you.
Este is used when something is very close to you, or on your person.
Example:
Imagine yourself pointing to a purple parrot in a tree half a block away
"That bird is very odd!" "Aquel pajaro es muy raro!"
Now, point to the bird sitting in your friend's lap, seated next to you.
"That bird is yours." "Ese pajaro es tuyo."
To complicate matters even more, we need to add "este". No, we are not
speaking of the East!
Pointing to the bird sitting on YOUR shoulder, you say
"This/that bird is mine." "Este pajaro es mio."
There are actually 3 forms of 'that', depending on distance in
relation to the speaker.
Aquel/aquella/aquello is for things far (relatively) away. I used
pointing to the bird as a means of indicating a distance.
Ese/esa/eso is for things closer to you, but not on your person.
Este/esta/esto is fot things in your vicinity, but not too far!
Suppose you were at a farmer's market, in Costa Rica. The vendor is
showing you her hand embroidered blouses. Some are hanging around the
stall, while others are neatly folded on a table. When she sees your
interest, she says to you, pointing to the blouse hanging near the
back of the stall:
"Le gustaria Ud. comprar aquella blusa?" "Would you like to buy that blouse?"
You shake your head and say "No, gracias"
She tries again, saying "Aaaaa, prefiere Ud. este blusa" "You prefer
this blouse" touching a blouse on the table.
You still don't care for either blouse, and the vendor is getting
impatient. She says, pointing to the blouse she is wearing "Le gusta
Ud. ESA blusa?" "Do you like THIS blouse?"
Here are some useful sites:
This site is in Spanish, but it is simple to understand, and may be
useful to you. It also shows the gender and plural forms.
http://www2.marianopolis.edu/spanish/SpanishII/span2c6et2t4.html
Demonstratives in Spanish, explained in English
http://www.columbia.edu/~js2348/gdemxa.html
Click on the green "Start Quiz" button to help reinforce the concept of THAT!
http://www.mhhe.com/socscience/spanish/puntos/student/olc/test3_9.mhtml
Hope THAT clears up THIS matter for you! Buena Suerte!
Sinceramente,
crabcakes |
Clarification of Answer by
crabcakes-ga
on
31 Dec 2004 12:23 PST
Hi patrice,
You could compare 'ave' to 'pajaro' as you would use 'fowl' to
'chicken', 'feline' to 'cat'. Ave does mean bird, but is is a more
generic term, for the bird family. You could call a cal a feline, but
generally we use 'ct' in everyday speaking. If you were speaking of
'birds' in general, as all the birds in the forest, you would use the
word 'aves'.
Wordreference.com defines 'ave' as 'bird', but used with 'coral' or
'rapina', tilde over the n)
http://wordreference.com/es/en/translation.asp?spen=ave&v=b
This leads to something new Spanish speakers would do well to note;
Not all Spanish is the same. Considering that the Spanish spoken in
Spain incorporates many Arabic words in their vocabulary (700 years of
Moorish control), and Latin American Spanish contains numerous
indigenous words, it's a wonder a Spaniard can understand a Mexican, a
Venezuelan to understand a Peruvian! It's the evolution of language!
Folks in Gudalajara, Mexico use the word "chango" for "mono", or
monkey, and "cuajalote" (I have no clue as to the spelling of this
indigenous word) for "pavo", or turkey.
As an example, think about some common British terms. Loo for
bathroom, ladder for a run in a stocking, bonnet for the hood of a
car, loudhailer for loudspeaker. Both are English, but different! In
Spanish, different words are used in different countries. I have
rarely heard the word 'ave' used to replace the word 'pajaro', but I
believe some Central American countries do use 'ave' more commonly,
for bird.
At one time, I was teaching computer classes in Spanish. My students
were from various countries. Some called the computer a computadora,
and others called it an ordenador! When I wanted the students to
press/hit/push a key, I had to say
oprima/machuca/aplasta/teclee/marque/pusha. One of those words was
understood by all,depending on the student's country of origin and
level of education.
Entoces, para aclararme bien, 'pajaro' is generally used in general,
and 'ave' is more generic, or for the family of birds.
Sinceramente,
crabcakes
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