Alli vs Alla

Question

How do I know when to use one or the other. Are they interchangeable?

Answer 1

I think there are some 'underlying' concepts on English which can be useful to understand at first, at least, the supposed meaning for these words: aquí, acá, allí y allá.

These are:

Aquí : here

Acá : over here

Allí : there

Allá : over there

However, if you are referring to the location of something/someone, then you might use ' por ' and ' ahí ', or ' por ' and ' allá ' but in an unaccurate way, this is, when there's not a clear idea about the precise location for something/someone. Let's say ' por ahí ' is the most unaccurate reference you or anyone can give, is almost like saying ' I don't know ! '

So if you say ' allí ', is like you think something must located/placed somewhere in the close, in the surroundings, and ' allá ' if you think it is located/placed somewhere far in the surroundings.

' Allí ' is like ' somewhere close ' and ' allá ' is like ' somewhere far ', which when used together with ' por ' will make think to whoever's listening you that you have no idea about the location for someone/something.

Ejemplo: Tus llaves deben estar en algún lugar, por ahí - por allá ( and even ' por allí ' ) / Your keys should be somewhere, over there.

So, there's no much difference between ' ahí ' and ' allá ', ' allí ' is just a little more accurate, but in practice, use any of these. It's all about inaccuracy.

And, use ' aquí ' or ' acá ' in case of feeling almost sure or sure, and this time the usage of ' por ' is practically irrelevant, it just adds some drama, in fact you'll hear a lot on action movies and things like that ( Donde estás ? Aquiiiii, por aquiiiiiiiii / Where are you ? Heeeeere, over heeeeere ! )

Ejemplos:

Your keys are here / Tus llaves están aquí: You know were the keys are, in your hand, or pocket and you are sure about that.

Your keys are over here / Tus llaves están aca: You are sure the keys are somewhere near, very very near, let's say on a desk drawer just in front of you.

Regards.

Thank youl. I'm going to print this for reference. :-) - 007c5fc1, Apr 23, 2014

Answer 2

This is my understanding:

This is a lesson on Using 'Aquí,' 'Ahí' and 'Allí' (this distinction you probably already know)

http://spanish.about.com/od/adverbs/a/here_there.htm

"Allá" is similar to "allí", but less precise. It refers to a non specified place far from the speaker.

Somewhere way off, or somewhere way over there. Distant and a little vague.

There are probably times you could use either, but also times where one or the other works best.