Question
Updated on
18 Dec 2016
- English (US)
-
Spanish (Mexico)
Question about English (US)
What is the difference between eso/esa/ese and esto/esta/este ?Feel free to just provide example sentences.
What is the difference between eso/esa/ese and esto/esta/este ?Feel free to just provide example sentences.
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- Spanish (Mexico)
Eso = That(genderless) Que es eso?(What is that?)
Esa = That(feminine) Que es esa cosa? (What is that thing?)
Ese = That(masculine) Dame ese plato. (Give me that plate)
Esto = this (genderless) Esto es divertido. (This is fun)
esta = this (feminine) Esta corona. (This crown)
este = this (masculine) Este perro. (This dog)
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- English (US)
@starlock Can you, or someone, explain the whole "genderless" thing a little more? Up until this point, I've learned about "feminine/masculine," but not "genderless."
- Spanish (Mexico)
@CJSB: I've never explained this before but I will try to make sense.
I think genderless words are used when you don't know if it's feminine or masculine.
For example, if you where in a lamp (lampara) store,
you would ask
Esa es nueva? (Is that one new?)
You know it is lamps you're talking about and lamps are feminine.
Another example:
Some weird looking alien thing comes out of nowhere.
For some reason you know it is masculine.
You ask
Quien es ese? (Who is that?)
Now this alien approaches you and you figure out you don't know what the hell it is. You just think it could be a thing or a something.
If in your mind this is a thing
you ask
Que es esa cosa? (What is that thing?) since things(cosas) is a feminine word you use esa.
But if in your mind you don't know if it's an actual thing or it could be just about anything (an idea in your mind, something outside this realm of existence). Basically something you don't know if it's masculine or feminine and you don't feel like calling it a thing.
you ask
Que es eso? (What is that?)
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- Spanish (Venezuela)
- Spanish (Mexico)
- Spanish (Spain)
You should use the words such as eso/esa/ese when either one object or somebody is in a certain distance where u cant touch them or be near of them.
The term ¨eso´´ is usually used with objects: buildings, kitchen utensils, cars, planes, monsters on Tv Shows, etc... (usually we must have named the noun), animals (Generally plural, because we dont know at that moment the gender of the animal, we dont use this word with our pets, sice it is usually rude in several aspects), with jokes and things make you laugh (when we are talking about a joke what wasnt specified, I mean, without naming a noun and too when you dont have the thing that made you laugh, that thing was said by someone else). We find this term often plural, which is ESOS (We use too when we are talking about a group of people, things, animals such as children, brushes, dogs; but never with words ending in A or AS because in spanish that means they are female, always are used with words ending in O or OS. The translation of this plural word in English is Those, but when it is singular we use That . Example of each:
-Esos gatos (male cats) comen mucho pescado: Those cats eat a lot of fish. ----> It is in plural, it sounds natural.
-Eso fue gracioso: That was funny (I didn´t name the joke, because I just heard it and I did´t say it)
-Esos cuchillos son peligrosos: Those knives are dangerous -------> We aren´t touching the knives we just can see them from distance.
-Esos bancos son algo seguros: Those banks are rather safe (We can see them and we aren´t on them, maybe near)
#Note: We can also use it to refer to something that has happened at a specific time and to emphasize something that is or was important, sudden or you liked it because either we had it or we saw it. In English is used That and Those in plural. Example:
-Eso es asombroso: That is amazing------> It can be a firework, a tv show, a parade, a car that likes us.
-Esos son bonitos: Those are beautiful-----> It can be shoes, dresses, women, drinks that like us or we saw or we used them or we spoke with them before
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- Spanish (Venezuela)
- Spanish (Mexico)
- Spanish (Spain)
We use the word ESA (singular) and ESAS (plural) with feminine things, that is, it almost always is with words ending in ia, ias, a, as. =That (singular), those (Plural)
-Esa gata (female cat) está enferma: That cat is sick-------> In spanish always say the gender.
We use the words ESE and ESOS (When we are talking about masculine things, people. In plural). They are used with words ending in er (plural eres), o, os, e (never the word nube= cloud. It always feminine), es, io, ios, in (plural ines), ez (plural ces removing Z no E), nouns ending in ar, iz (plural CES without removing I. Example:Esos lapices= Those pencils), ol (plural oles. Example: Ese arbol=That tree), al (plural ales. Example= Ese panal: That honeycomb), el (plural eles. Example= Esos paneles: Those panels) il (plural iles. Example= Esos barriles: Those Barrels); act of verbs ending in ar, er, ir (example Ese bienestar: That wellness). There are so many rules, those are some. Remember ESE always with masculine things, people, animals.
-The word ESA (Plural ESAS) is the same as the word ESO, but feminine. With words ending in a (as), dad (plural dades), some words with er and eres (plural). We use this word with things in the distance that we can see and we cant touch at that moment. Her translation = That, Those. Example:
*Esa mujer es fea= That woman is ugly-----> Female.
The word Esto is the opposite word of ESO. We use it when we say things, we can touch them and we posses it. Its plural is Estos and are used with plural nouns with several members of different genders, that is, to generalize. We must use it with plural masculine nouns, because this replaces ESTE when is plural. Often we dont have to name the noun previously, we can skip it, but if we named it we have to replace ESTO with ESTE or ESTA (Depends the gender). Its translation in English is This and plural These. Example:
-Esto trabajo cansa: This exhausts-----> No noun.
-Estos libros son interesantes: These books are interesting-----> We can touch or see them closely.
-Estos hombres: These Men----> They are close to us.
The word ESTA (Plural ESTAS) is the same as the word ESTO/ESTOS but feminine. = This/These.
-Esta isla es desierta: This island is deserted-----> We are on it, touching it.
-Estas camisas: These shirts-----> I have them on my hand, touching them.
The word ESTE (Plural ESTOS) is the same as the word ESTO and ESTA/ESTAS but masculine. = This/These.
-Este arroz está delicioso: This rice is delicious-----> I am eating it, therefore i am touching it inside my mouth.
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- English (US)
Thanks, everyone. This will take me a bit longer to digest, but I'm starting to understand.
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