What does "ello" mean?
Apparently this means "this." I was reading defintions for the verb "poner," and one example was "¿Quién se pone a ello -> who dares to do it" I then translated "a ello" and it means "to this." Is that right? When else is "ello" used? I've never heard of it.
4 Answers
Ello is a dying pronoun in Spanish, normally replaced with "eso" (or "that" in English).
It is used to refer to a previously mentioned information, abstract nouns, events and states, as well as in the formula "todo ello" (all that), also referred to already mentioned information. It is rarely used in spoken Spanish, and even in literary and formal Spanish, it is subject to many restrictions. It can always be replaced by "eso", which is much more frequently used, even in literary Spanish.
**ello** is the neuter pronoun for "it". It can be the object of a preposition or less often the subject of a sentence. Like "lo" it usually refers to something conceptual or unknow rather than to a specific antecedent.
eso/aquello=that thing (neuter pronoun)
esto=this thing (neuter pronoun)
I believe - and I'm not familiar with this phrase - that ello in this case means that.
Who puts himself to do that?, or Who dares to do that?
Good question!
Ello in English means it.
