Eso y ese?
Hi, I have read a previous post on this topic but am none the wiser. I understand they both meant "that" but when do you use "eso" and when do you use "ese"? Thanks in advance, Hamish
1 Answer
Those words are either demonstrative pronouns (take the place of the noun) or demonstrative adjectives (describe the noun).
It's a bit tricky because the pronouns are identical in most cases to the adjectives but the context usually makes clear whether it's being used as an adjective or a pronoun.
a) Ese vestido es muy lindo. That dress is very nice. (demonstrative adjective goes with a noun)
b) Ese es muy lindo. That is very nice. (demonstrative pronoun replaces the noun)
A couple of things to remember for there use is that you use ese, esa, esos and esas to point out or refer to things that are further away from the speaker and closer to the person being spoken to or to refer to what had just been mentioned. They corresponds to the English "that" or "those" and would be used under the same circumstances.
Use eso to refer to things without gender ie. abstract things such as something said or done. Eg: No digas eso. Don't say that. ¡Eso es! That's it! En eso estaba cuando … I was just in the middle of doing that when …
If you would like to learn more, these lessons might help - Here there and everywhere - demonstrative adjectives and Spanish demonstrative pronouns
