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Learning Spanish: How to Understand and Speak a New Language
of “that” is “those.” Spanish has three demonstrative adjectives: este [this] is used to talk about something near the
speaker and is often used with the adverb aquí [here]; ese [that] is used to talk about something farther away and is
often used with the adverb allí [there]; and aquel [that over there] is used to talk about something even farther away
and is often used with the adverb allá [over there].
Each of these demonstrative adjectives has four forms: masculine singular, feminine singular, masculine plural, and
feminine plural. These forms are as follows: este [this], esta [this], estos [these], estas [these]; ese [that], esa [that],
esos [those], esas [those]; aquel [that over there], aquella [that over there], aquellos [those over there], aquellas
[those over there]. Demonstrative adjectives, unlike most adjectives in Spanish, go before the modied noun (e.g.,
estas cartas [these menus]; esos guisantes [those peas]; aquel aperitivo [that appetizer over there]).
B. Demonstrative Pronouns
All of the demonstrative adjectives, which clearly are used to modify nouns, can also be used as demonstrative
pronouns, meaning that they can replace nouns as well (e.g., De los dos pasteles, ¿preeres este o ese? is “Of
the two cakes, do you prefer this one or that one?”). There are also three neuter demonstrative pronouns that are not
demonstrative adjectives: esto [this], eso [that], and aquello [that]. These three pronouns, which cannot be used as
adjectives, are used to talk not about some specic object but, rather, about a situation in general or some idea that
has already been mentioned. For example, ¿Qué es esto? is “What is this?,” a question often used by someone who
comes upon some odd situation he or she doesn’t understand.
C. Afrmative and Negative Expressions
It can be helpful to learn afrmative and negative expressions together so that you’re learning a word and its opposite
(e.g., algo [something] and nada [nothing]; alguien [someone] and nadie [no one]; siempre [always] or a veces
[at times] and nunca [never]; también [also] and tampoco [neither]; o…o [either…or] and ni…ni [neither…nor]).
También is used if you agree with something afrmative someone has said, while tampoco is used if you agree with
something negative someone has said (e.g., Siempre visito este museo. Yo también is “I always visit this museum.”
“Me too”; No cocinamos mucho. Nosotros tampoco is “We don’t cook much.” “We don’t either”).
Double negatives are grammatically acceptable in Spanish. In fact, it’s very common to put no before the verb and
another negative word after the verb (e.g., No viajan nunca is “They never travel”; No estudia nadie is “No one
studies”; No veo a nadie is “I don’t see anyone”). Besides putting no before the verb and a different negative word
after it, you can also simply put the negative word before the verb (e.g., Nunca viajan; Nadie estudia; A nadie veo).
D. Variations in Grammar and Vocabulary in Spanish
You have already learned that the subject pronouns vosotros and vosotras (the informal, plural forms of tú) are used
only in Spain. Another regional difference in subject pronoun use deals with the use, or lack of use, of the subject
pronoun tú. In certain areas of the Spanish-speaking world—in many parts of Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay and
in a number of Central American countries—speakers use the subject pronoun vos instead of tú. Someone speaking
informally to you using vos would not ask ¿De dónde eres tú? to say “Where are you from?”; instead, the speaker
would ask ¿De dónde sos vos? (Sos is the form of the verb ser that is used with vos). So, if you interact with a
Spanish speaker using vos, just know that it’s a second-person singular subject pronoun.
As for vocabulary, it’s not surprising that different words are used in different regions. For example, “a bowl” in Spanish
could be un bol, un cuenco, un tazón, un plato, or un plato hondo, depending on the country. If you talk to someone
who uses a different word than you do (e.g., zumo instead of jugo for “juice” or camarera instead of mesera for
“waitress”), use the encounter as an opportunity to expand your vocabulary.
E. Varieties of Accents in Spoken Spanish
Spanish speakers in different regions of the world pronounce words in the language in different ways. You have
learned that in northern and central Spain, a speaker would pronounce the z in zapato with a th sound, rather than
the s sound common in Latin America. Many speakers in el cono sur [the southern cone] region that includes Chile,
Argentina, and Uruguay pronounce both the y and ll as a sh sound. And it is common in Spanish-speaking regions
of the Caribbean for speakers to drop the sounds associated with s and d, such that ¿Cómo están ustedes? might
sound more like ¿Cómo etá utee?.