Answers
Sep 25, 2013 - 10:56 PM
As explained in Asi Es, my wife's Spanish text: Ese and all it's forms mean that or those, and often indicate distance from both the speaker and listener or long distance from the speaker (in comparison to Aquel which implies the distance is closer) (forms of Ese are: ése, ésa, ésos, ésas and eso (neuter)).
So "eso" is the neuter.
It goes on: The neuter demonstratives esto, eso, and aquello are used to refer to abstract ideas, concepts or situations, and undetermined or unidentified objects, eg. Eso es fácil de hacer (that's easy to do).
Hope that helps a little.
So "eso" is the neuter.
It goes on: The neuter demonstratives esto, eso, and aquello are used to refer to abstract ideas, concepts or situations, and undetermined or unidentified objects, eg. Eso es fácil de hacer (that's easy to do).
Hope that helps a little.
Jan 21, 2018 - 02:54 AM
This post was a while ago, so I hope you got an answer from somewhere or figured it out! When eso/esto is first introduced in level 2, Sonia says that it is used to refer to something generally.
ese/este that/this (m) esos/estos those/these (m)(p)
esa/esta that/this (f) esas/estas those/these (f)(p)
These are used when you can determine the noun, and thus the gender, that you are referring to. In cases where you want to say this/that, but the thing you are referring to is either an idea, action, or something you are not familiar with, that is when you use eso/esto. A real-life example I can tell you, I was on a video chat with a Colombian friend who helps me with fitness tips. He described an exercise to me, and I tried to demonstrate what he was describing with my body. When I finally got it right, he exclaimed "Eso!" The "that" in this case doesn't have an object to refer to. We can pin it on "position" or "movement" or "exercise," but the "eso" in this case was just a general referral to what I was doing. I hope this is helpful and that I didn't make any mistakes!!
ese/este that/this (m) esos/estos those/these (m)(p)
esa/esta that/this (f) esas/estas those/these (f)(p)
These are used when you can determine the noun, and thus the gender, that you are referring to. In cases where you want to say this/that, but the thing you are referring to is either an idea, action, or something you are not familiar with, that is when you use eso/esto. A real-life example I can tell you, I was on a video chat with a Colombian friend who helps me with fitness tips. He described an exercise to me, and I tried to demonstrate what he was describing with my body. When I finally got it right, he exclaimed "Eso!" The "that" in this case doesn't have an object to refer to. We can pin it on "position" or "movement" or "exercise," but the "eso" in this case was just a general referral to what I was doing. I hope this is helpful and that I didn't make any mistakes!!
Jan 28, 2018 - 09:21 AM
I had been struggling with "eso". Thanks!