EntranceThe demonstrative pronoun (pronombre demostrativo). Demonstrative pronouns in Spanish
Demonstrative pronouns serve three main functions in Spanish:
- Determine the location of the object
Note that pronouns aquel, aquella,… in spoken language they are used less frequently and are often replaced by ese, esa,… So, the last example from the table might sound like
Aquel vestido que lleva aquella señora es precioso
but it wouldn't look very natural.
Very often, in the same sentence, two objects at different distances are contrasted. In this case, when translating into Russian, we have to complete and clarify:
Este vestido no me gusta, prefiero ese(=el que está más lejos o el que llevas tú en las manos) – This(which I have in my hands) I don’t like the dress, I prefer over there(which is in your hands or not far from me)
¿Ves ese edificio ahí al fondo? No, ese no, aquel(=el que está todavía más lejos) – See over there the building over there? Not no that's nearby, A over there in the distance
Three types of demonstrative pronouns correspond to the three adverbs of place and are often used together with them:
Este de aquí, esta de aquí, estos de aquí, estas de aquí
Ese de ahí, esa de ahí, esos de ahí, esas de ahí(used especially often)
Aquel de allí, aquella de allí,...
Pronouns ese, esa, esos, esas often used with a hint of disapproval:
–Mira esa… = Mira esa mala mujer / Mira esa chica que se cree Dios / Mira esa chica cuyo comportamiento o forma de ser no apruebo nada - Look at this is a phenomenon ("beauty", I imagined, an idiot...)
–Yo con ese no salgo = No voy a salir con ese imbécil/engreído/feo/…. - WITH like this I do not make dates
- Indicate the time of the event
In this case also pronouns aquel, aquella, ... are used more often in book speech.
- Point to a specific character in speech
In this meaning, demonstrative pronouns are used without qualifying words.
Pronouns este, esta, estos, estas used to introduce new characters in a story or when making acquaintances:
Estos son dos gallegos que vuelven de la misa… (introduce unos futuros personajes) – ___ Two Galicians return from service (introduces new characters)
Mira, esta es Nuria, es una amiga de la universidad (presenta a una amiga) – This Nuria, a friend from university
Please note that in Russian we use the pronoun to introduce strangers This, which we do not change either in gender or in number, hence the typical mistakes of Russians:
*Esto es Juan, un amigo – This is my friend Juan(Right: Este es Juan, un amigo)
In book speech, these pronouns are used to identify characters who are close or distant in the text:
Esos/Aquellos fueron un día… – First(the Madrid people, who were reported earlier than the Catalans) one day went...
En el pueblo vivían dos madrileños y dos catalanes. Estos fueron un día… – In that village lived two Madridis and two Catalans. Latest(the Catalans, who were reported later than the Madrid ones) one day went...
Special cases of using pronouns eso
Word eso found in set expressions that serve to achieve certain communicative goals:
- Eso es/Eso
. Used to show that the interlocutor has successfully expressed our thoughts:
– La gente no vive nada bien, falta comida, hay mucho paro... – People live poorly, there is not enough food, high unemployment...
–O sea, que las cosas van de mal en peor – In general, it’s getting worse and worse
–Eso / Eso es – Exactly
. - ¿Y eso?
Means the same as ¿Por qué? but, moreover, conveys strong surprise:
–Mi hijo ha decicido dejar los estudios – The son decided to quit his studies
–¿Y eso?¡Si decías que le encantaba! – Yah? Are you serious? You said that he really liked it! - Y eso que. Gives more weight to previous facts due to new information:
–Jorge ha montado este proyecto solo,¡ y eso que tiene cuatro hijos! – Jorge did this project alone, and this despite the fact that he has four children! - Eso sí.
This connective contrasts positive information with previous negative information:
–¿Qué, se gana mucho trabajando en la universidad? - Well, do they pay a lot at the university?
–Qué va, nos pagan una miseria. Eso sí: siempre tenemos alumnos particulares - Why, they pay pennies. But we always have students
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Today we will look at the topic "Demonstrative pronouns". In Spanish, they are close in meaning to the definite article, but at the same time they more accurately indicate the location of the person or object in question in relation to the participants in the conversation (actually, the same as in Russian. We’re just over we never think about it). Based on this feature, there are three types of demonstrative pronouns:
First group: este (this), esta (this), esto (this, here) - point to something o is located in close proximity tospeaker.
| number | masculine | feminine | neuter gender |
| unity | este armario | esta carta | esto |
| sets. | estosarmarios | estas cartas | - |
Este libro es manual de españolThis book is a Spanish textbook.(meaning that it is next to me on the table or in my hand X)
Second group: ese (this), esa (this), eso (there) -indicate something that is in close proximity to to the interlocutor.
¿ Ese libro es tambie"n un manual de español
? Is this book also a textbook? (meaning the book that is in the listener’s possession, that is, in your possession)
| number | masculine | feminine | neuter gender |
| unity | ese armario | esa carta | eso |
| sets. | esosarmarios | esas cartas | - |
Third group:aquel (that), aquella (that), aquello (that) - indicate something that is far away or near a third person (away from interlocutors)
| number | masculine | feminine | neuter gender |
| unity | aquel armario | aquella carta | aquello |
| sets. | aquellos armarios | aquellas cartas | - |
¿ Aquellos libros son tambie"n manuales d eespañ ol?
Basic rules of use:
1) Masculine and feminine demonstrative pronouns receive an accent mark if they are used independently, for example:
e"sta es mi amiga - this is my friend.
2) Neuter demonstrative pronouns never receive an accent mark. They are never followed by nouns (remember, Spanish only has masculine and feminine genders!). These pronouns are always used independently. And they point to:
Something that is not described in detail:
Esto es un libro- this is a book, BUT este es un libro muy interesante (this is a very interesting book)
For an undefined thing:
¿Qué es eso? What is this (in your hand for example)?
Something that was discussed a little earlier:
Esso es ridículo. This is ridiculous/funny (what you just said).
3) esto, eso and aquello never do not apply to persons. To askWho is this? The following expressions are used:
¿Quie"n es ese señor?
¿Quie"n es esa señora?
¿Quie"n es esta chica?
4) In declarative sentences like “This is...” - the demonstrative pronoun always agrees in gender and number with the nominal predicate!
5) If the demonstrative pronoun comes after a noun, then the definite article is placed before the noun, but such cases are very rare: el libro ese
6) When listing nouns, demonstrative pronouns are repeated before each of them:
Este boli "grafo y este cuaderno son de Victor. This pen and notebook are Victor's.
7) If there are two or more modifiers before a noun, then the demonstrative pronoun comes first:
Estas dos chicasson mis amigas. These two girls are my friends.
In conclusion, I would like to note that demonstrative pronouns are used with corresponding adverbs of place, which we will talk about in the next post.
The topic of this article is demonstrative pronouns in Spanish. The main function of demonstrative pronouns in Spanish is to distinguish an object or phenomenon from similar ones by indicating their position in space or time. Demonstrative pronouns in Spanish are divided into 2 categories: demonstrative adjective pronouns and demonstrative noun pronouns.
Demonstrative pronouns-adjectives in Spanish
Demonstrative pronouns-adjectives in Spanish are always used with nouns, agree with it in gender and number, and are placed immediately before the noun, thus replacing articles in Spanish.
The table shows the forms of Spanish adjective pronouns:
|
Singular |
Plural |
||
|
masculine |
feminine |
masculine |
feminine |
|
este - this one |
esta - this |
estos - these |
estas - these |
|
ese - this one |
esa - this one |
esos - these |
esas - these |
|
aquel - that one |
aquella - that one |
aquellos - those |
aquellas - those |
1. The demonstrative pronoun este and its derivatives indicate an object or phenomenon that is located in space closer to the speaker. If we are talking about time, then it indicates the present tense:
Este libro es ruso - this book is Spanish
Esta semana de la que te hablo la pasaremos en Kíev - this week that I’m telling you about, we will spend in Kyiv
2. Demonstrative pronouns in Spanish ese, esa, esos, esas denote objects or phenomena that are closer to the interlocutor than to the speaker. When talking about the time of action, these pronouns indicate the time immediately preceding or immediately following the moment of speech:
Ese libro, que estas leyendo, es ruso - this book you are reading is Russian
Esas semanas hemos descansado mucho - we have had a lot of rest these (last) weeks
3. Demonstrative pronouns in Spanish aquel, aquella, aquellos, aquellas indicate objects, creatures or phenomena that are far from the interlocutors. In relation to time, these demonstrative pronouns denote a distant period of time:
Aquellos libros que están en la biblioteca son rusos - those books that are in the library are Russian
Aquellos años de guerra fueron muy difíciles - those war years were very difficult
Demonstrative pronouns-nouns in Spanish
Demonstrative pronouns-nouns in Spanish have 3 genders: masculine - este, feminine - esta and neuter - esto; are used without nouns and replace them in a sentence. As can be seen from the above examples, demonstrative pronouns-nouns of masculine and feminine gender have graphic stress to distinguish them from homonymous pronouns-adjectives. Neuter pronouns do not have graphic stress.
Demonstrative noun pronouns in Spanish take the gender and number of the noun they replace:
Esto libro no es como aquél - this book is not like that one
Note: if in the second part of the sentence there are several demonstrative pronouns replacing nouns from the first part of the sentence, then the last of the listed nouns is replaced by the pronoun éste, ésta, etc., and instead of the first nouns we use aquél, aquélla, etc.:
María tenia dos perros y una gata: est era de piel negra, aquéllos de color pardo - Maria had 2 dogs and a cat: this one is black, and those are brown
Demonstrative pronouns-neuter nouns can sometimes replace entire phrases, making speech more expressive and concise:
Todo lo que vimos nos impresionó mucho. Aquello fue un tremendo espectáculo - everything we saw really excited us. It was an amazing sight
In written speech, the functions of demonstrative pronouns-nouns can be performed by combinations of the definite article with the preposition de:
el de, la de, los de, las de, lo de:
Esos son curas no como los de aquí - these priests are not like here
— este, esta, estos, estas are used when talking about something or someone close (at arm's length) to the speaker.
— ese, esa, esos, esas are used when talking about objects that are nearby (but cannot be reached with your hand).
— aquel, aquella, aquellos, aquellas are used when talking about something or someone located far from the speaker.
Can be used with or without a noun. If used with a noun, it must agree with it in gender and number.
Me gusta mucho este restaurante.
— I really like this restaurant.
Este es mi hombre.
— It is my husband.
¿Cuál es tu casa, esta o esa?
— Which house is yours, this one or that one?
Este, esta, ese, esa, aquel, aquella may indicate proximity or distance in time.
Esta mañana tengo mucho trabajo. — I have a lot of work to do this morning.
Estuve en Colombia en 2015. Ese año hubo elecciones.— I was in Colombia in 2015. That year there were elections. (past or future, which was already mentioned earlier)
Mi abuelo nació en 1920. En aquella época reinaba Alfonso XIII. — My grandfather was born in 1920. Alfonso XIII ruled in that era. (distant past)
Esto, eso, aquello
— Esto, eso, aquello not used with nouns. Usually they talk about something unknown or obvious.
Pasame eso, por favor. — Pass this to me please.
¿Quées aquello que hay detrás de la casa? — What is this that is behind the house?
— Eso used when remembering something said.
- Se han divorciado. — Eso que dices no es cierto. — They got divorced. - What you say is not true.
— Esto also used to draw attention to the speaker's next speech.
Escucha esto: “No me gusta...” — Listen: “I don’t like...”
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A pronoun is an independent part of speech that indicates objects, signs, quantity, but does not name them
Pronouns are divided into several groups: personal (indicate the speaker or person to whom speech is addressed), demonstrative (indicate an object or quality), possessive (indicate the affiliation of an object or person).
Personal pronouns
The personal pronoun is almost always not indicated, since at the end of the verb it is already clear which person we are talking about. If a sentence has two actors and two predicates, then personal pronouns are not omitted never:
Yo soy feliz, y él no lo es.
Respectful treatment Usted It doesn’t change by gender, but it changes by numbers.
Plural pronouns have gender: at the end there is a vowel o for m.r. and a – for w.r.
Stressed forms are used in combination with prepositions (see below), for example:
para ti, con ella, de nosotros, a vosotros.
The following constructions use personal pronouns rather than accents:
- Como ella, el, yo, etc.
- Entre tú y yo
- Excepto ella, yo, nosotros, etc.
- Incluso/incluyendoél, tú, ellos, etc.
- Según ella, yo, vosotros, etc.
Demonstrative pronouns
| Pronoun | Examples |
| Este - this one Esta - this Esto is Estas - these Estos - these |
Esta casa es la más bonita. This house is the most beautiful. Esto es todo lo que sé. That's all what I know. Estos hombres llevan aquí todo el día. These guys spend all day here. Estas chicas son muy atractivas. These girls are very attractive. |
| Ese - that one Esa - that one Eso - that Esos - those Esas - those |
Ese perro está loco; ladra día y noche. |
|
This pronoun indicates an object that is not even more distant. |
Pronoun este replaces the last mentioned noun, aquel- to the penultimate one:
Manuel es mayor que Juán. Este tiene 4 años y aquel es de 7 años. (este se refière a Juán, aquel se refière a Manuel)
Possessive pronouns
| Singular | Plural | Translation |
| mi tu su |
Mis tus sus |
My my Yours - yours |
| Nuestro (nuestra) Vuestro (vuestra) Su |
Nuestros (nuestras) Vuestro (vuestras) sus |
Our – ours Yours - yours Theirs, yours – theirs, yours |
Possessive pronouns have another form, stressed (here all forms change according to gender and number):
| Singular | Plural | Translation |
| Mio, mia Tuyo, tuya Suyo, suya |
Míos, mías Tuyos, tuyas Suyos, suyas |
My my Yours - yours His, hers, yours, yours – theirs, yours |
| Nuestro, nuestra Vuestro, vuestra Suyo, suya |
Nuestros, nuestras Vuestros, vuestras Suyos, suyas |
Our – ours Yours - yours Theirs, yours – theirs, yours |
The stressed form is used instead of a noun (so as not to repeat itself), when addressing, or when there is already a demonstrative pronoun (that, that..) or a numeral before the defined noun. They are translated in the same way as unstressed ones. Always used INSTEAD of a noun, i.e. Without him.
Example: No son mis libros, son tuyos. These are not my books, these are yours.
Stressed and unstressed forms. Case pronouns
| Impact form | Dative (to whom) | Accusative (who? what? ) |
| mi | me | me |
| ti | te | te |
| el, ella; usted | le | lo, la; le, lo, la |
| nosotros | nos | nos |
| vosotros | os | os |
| ellos, ellas; ustedes | les | los, las; les, los, las |
In all cases, except for the dative and accusative, stressed forms of the pronouns and are used. One exception should be remembered: with the preposition con in the forms of the 1st and 2nd singular units (I and you), the pronouns merge: conmigo, contigo.
Voy contigo. I will go with you.
Coma sin nosotros. Eat without us.
¿Has oído esta historia de nosotros? Have you heard this story about us? or Did you hear this story from us?
Mi hermano siempre se me ríe. My brother always laughs at me.
Cree que todo el mundo está conrta el. I think everyone is against him.
Me gusta mi casa. Estoy muy cómodo en él. I like my house. I feel very comfortable in it.
No quiero hablar acerca ella. I don't want to talk about her.
Complements in the dative and accusative case can not express only shock form pronouns: unstressed forms are used, or unstressed forms in combination with stress.
When using multiple pronouns, the dative case comes first, then the accusative. If two 3rd person pronouns come in a row, then the first one changes to se, for example: Se lo digo (wrong: le lo digo) - I tell him this.
Pregúnta me. Ask me.
Telo digo. I'm telling you this.
Case pronouns are used after infinitive, participle or imperative form of the verb and are written together (“dí melo" -"tell me this"). If the verb is in any other form, then the pronouns are placed before him: Nos lo pide. He asks us to do this.
In verb constructions there are two options: Lo Estoy estudiando = Estoy estudiándo lo.
Other pronouns
|
Todo - everything, everything, everything; cada - each, each todo el día - all day todo el libro - the whole book todo lo que necesito - everything I need Dame algún ejemplo. Give me some example. Soy de la misma opinion. I'm of the same opinion. |