Voted Best Answer
Jan 19, 2015 - 01:45 PM
You're right, I think they missed that one. "Allí" and "allá" both mean "there", but with different degrees of specificity. Allí denotes a specific or nearby location, for example something in the same room or close enough that you could point to it. Allá is a more general or distant location.
As with anything Spanish, usage varies by region; you may even encounter a third "there", ahí. I've heard varying descriptions of this, but the definition I've come to accept is that it's for things that are near the listener.
Por ejemplo:
"Madrid suena fantastico, quiero ir allá." (Madrid sounds fantastic, I want to go there - allá because I'm talking about another city)
"No sé, pero mi hermano allí sabe." (I don't know, but my brother over there knows - allí because he's in the same room.) "
"¿Hay mis llaves ahí? (Are my keys over there? - ahí because I'm referring to the listener's location.)
As with anything Spanish, usage varies by region; you may even encounter a third "there", ahí. I've heard varying descriptions of this, but the definition I've come to accept is that it's for things that are near the listener.
Por ejemplo:
"Madrid suena fantastico, quiero ir allá." (Madrid sounds fantastic, I want to go there - allá because I'm talking about another city)
"No sé, pero mi hermano allí sabe." (I don't know, but my brother over there knows - allí because he's in the same room.) "
"¿Hay mis llaves ahí? (Are my keys over there? - ahí because I'm referring to the listener's location.)