ese

that

that one

USAGE NOTE

For many years, the pronoun sense of this word was written with an accent: "ése." Nowadays, all senses of this word are written without an accent: "ese."

ese(eh-seh)

adjective

1. (demonstrative)

a. that (masculine singular)

Ese coche es el que más me gusta.

That car is the one I like best.

pronoun

2. (demonstrative)

a. that one (masculine singular)

Eligió ese, el que está más cerca.

She chose that one, the nearest one.

feminine noun

3. (letter)

a. s

"Hacer" no se escribe con ese.

"Hacer" isn't spelt with an "s."

ese

adjective

1. (en general)

a. that, pl those

2. (fam pey)

a.

el hombre ese no me inspira confianzaI don't trust that man

Copyright © 2006 Harrap Publishers Limited

ese

name of the letter S

en forma de ese S-shaped

hacer eses [+carretera] to zigzag; twist and turn; [+coche] to zigzag; [+borracho] to reel about

esea esa

demonstrative adjective

that

esa casa that house; esos/as those; esos dibujos those drawings; no conozco al tío ese I don't know that guy (familiar)

esea esa

ésea ésa

demonstrative pronoun

1 that one

ese es el mío that one is mine; esos/as those; those ones; prefiero esos I prefer those ones; esos que te compré yo the ones I bought you

2 (en locuciones)

¡no me vengas con esas! don't give me any more of that nonsense!; y cosas de esas and suchlike; ¡no me salgas ahora con esas! don't bring all that up again!; no es una chica de esas she's not that kind of girl; ni por esas (de ningún modo) on no account; (aun así) even so

In the past the standard spelling for these demonstrative pronouns was with an accent ([ése, ésa, ésos] and [ésas]). Nowadays the [Real Academia Española] advises that the accented forms are only required where there might otherwise be confusion with the adjective.