A2 · The pronouns
This, that — and the third one
You have two distances; here there are three, and the middle one belongs to the person you are talking to.
There are three distances and not two. Este is by me, esse is by you, aquele is by neither of us. English has « this » and « that » and has to make the second one do two jobs, or point.
The middle one is the one to sit with, because English has nothing for it. Esse does not mean « that over there »; it means « that, near the person I am speaking to ». Handing something over, you say esse the moment it leaves your hand.
Each of the three rows has four forms: este, esta, estes, estas. They agree with the noun, like an adjective.
With no noun beside them there is a separate form with no gender: isto, isso, aquilo. O que é isto? is « what is this? » — you do not yet know what it is, so it cannot have a gender. And they fuse with de and em: neste livro, nesse dia, naquela altura, disto, daquilo. The fusion is compulsory.
Die Form
| this book, by me | este livro |
| that book, by you | esse livro |
| that book, over there | aquele livro |
| this thing | isto |
| at this moment | neste momento |
| of that thing over there | daquilo |
Die Regeln im Einzelnen
este by me, esse by you, aquele by neither.
Este é o meu lugar, esse é o teu.This is my seat, that one is yours.
With no noun it is isto, isso or aquilo.
O que é isto?What is this?
With em and de it fuses.
Neste dia não trabalho.I do not work on this day.
The form agrees with the noun.
Aquelas casas são antigas.Those houses are old.
Woran man es erkennt
- este
- esse
- aquele
- isto
- neste
Beispielsätze
Esta camisola é mais barata do que aquela.This jumper is cheaper than that one.
Não percebi isso, podes repetir?I did not catch that, could you say it again?
Naquele verão choveu todos os dias.It rained every day that summer.
Quem é aquele senhor ao pé da porta?Who is that gentleman by the door?
Die typisch deutsche Falle
Aufgepasst
Isto never stands in front of a noun. The genderless forms in -o exist only on their own: isto é bom, but este livro é bom. English uses « this » for both jobs — « this is good » and « this book is good » — so nothing marks the boundary, and isto livro comes out looking perfectly reasonable. It is not a word order problem; it is two different words.
By me este, by you esse, otherwise aquele.
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