Are there times when "ello" is the preferred choice?

Question

I didn't know "ello" existed as a neuter pronoun until a few days ago. I was studying it in the dictionary, and it seems that many of the examples can be said in a different, more common way. I looked back in the forum and former posters indicated that it isn't used very often. Searching previous posts is certainly a nice feature of this site.

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Some examples from the dictionary are, "Ello es dificíl." "Ello no me gusta." The first is defined as "It's awkward" in the dictionary. Would it change the meaning at all to simply say, "Es difícil"? The second I normally see, "No me gusta."

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Another example is "No quiero hablar de ello." It's probably more common to say, "No quiero hablar de eso."

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Are there times where "ello" is preferred because no other way of saying it will convey quite the same meaning?

Answer 1

There are times when it can be used.

From my dictionary -

Todavía estamos hablando de ello.

We’re still grappling with it. (talking about it)

I'll add this to my notes. Thanks! - island_fever, Oct 4, 2012

Answer 2

Are there times where "ello" is preferred because no other way of saying it will convey quite the same meaning?

Well, I don't recall hearing "ello," so maybe it's not used so often, as you say.

However, "él" and "ella" are used as pronouns to keep from repeating yourself with the object itself.

For example....

Hijo: ¿Dónde está mi libro?

Madre: Está debajo de la mesa.

Hijo: No, no está debajo de ella.

E D I T:

I found these other examples....

El coche está roto. Necesito un eje para él.

Me gusta mucho mi bicicleta. No puedo vivir sin ella.

El examen fue muy difícil. A causa de él, no aprobé.

Había muchas muertes antes de la guerra civil y durante ella.

That's interesting. I didn't know él and ella could be used in that capacity. Thanks! - rheit, Oct 4, 2012

thank rheit...this one is for my notes too..y como siempre, gracias a mariana. - island_fever, Oct 4, 2012