Learn about Spanish demonstrative adjectives
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Michelle: Hola a todos, ¿cómo le va? |
| Carlos: What’s going on? My name is Carlos. “Spanish demonstrative adjectives. I love this house.” Well, looks like it's the rainy season once again in Costa Rica and unfortunately today Dylan is quite sick. She got the “gripe”. So Michelle is slumming with me in the newbie series today or for the intermediate series. And in this lesson, you will learn about demonstrative adjectives. |
| Michelle: Those are different from the regular adjectives. |
| Carlos: You know, I was just about to ask you that. |
| Michelle: So have Sofía and Gabriel finished moving? |
| Carlos: Yep and now they are in the aftermath. |
| Michelle: So their conversation is still informal. |
| Carlos: Actually the conversation is formal. |
| Michelle: Right. At times, people do go back and forth between formal and informal even if they are intimate with someone. |
| Carlos: Let’s listen to today’s conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| GABRIEL: No sabes, estoy muerto... para ser dos personas, tenemos demasiadas cosas. |
| SOFIA: Sí, lo sé, pero bueno, ya terminamos. ¿Quieres un té? |
| GABRIEL: Claro. ¿Sabes?, esta casa sí me gusta. |
| SOFIA: Ya con todas las cosas dentro se ve muy distinta... como yo te decía. |
| GABRIEL: Sí, ya se siente más como un hogar. |
| And now, slowly. |
| Una vez más, esta vez lentamente. |
| GABRIEL: No sabes, estoy muerto... para ser dos personas, tenemos demasiadas cosas. |
| SOFIA: Sí, lo sé, pero bueno, ya terminamos. ¿Quieres un té? |
| GABRIEL: Claro. ¿Sabes?, esta casa sí me gusta. |
| SOFIA: Ya con todas las cosas dentro se ve muy distinta... como yo te decía. |
| GABRIEL: Sí, ya se siente más como un hogar. |
| And now, with the translation. |
| Ahora, incluimos la traducción. |
| GABRIEL: No sabes, estoy muerto... para ser dos personas, tenemos demasiadas cosas. |
| GABRIEL: You don't even know, I am dead tired...for two people, we have so many things. |
| SOFIA: Sí, lo sé, pero bueno, ya terminamos. ¿Quieres un té? |
| SOFIA: Yeah, I know. But, well now we're done. Do you want some tea? |
| GABRIEL: Claro. ¿Sabes?, esta casa sí me gusta. |
| GABRIEL: Sure, ya' know, I do like this house. |
| SOFIA: Ya con todas las cosas dentro se ve muy distinta... como yo te decía. |
| SOFIA: Now, with everything inside, it looks very distinct...like I told you. |
| GABRIEL: Sí, ya se siente más como un hogar. |
| GABRIEL: Yeah, now it feels more like a home. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Carlos: You know I love that point when you move into a house, Michelle, where like you are just sitting there and finally after everything is done, you are completely finished. All the stuff is on the walls. I can’t really talk about that because I didn’t put pictures up in a year but other than that, you sit there and you chill out and everything is everything. You are finally home. |
| Michelle: I know I love that new home type of feel. It’s just everything is yours and no one else can tell you anything. |
| Carlos: I thought we are going to say the new home smells like a car. |
| Michelle: I almost did. |
| Carlos: I know. All right, let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Michelle: “Demasiado, demasiada”. |
| Carlos: “Too much”, “too many.” |
| Michelle: “De-ma-sia-do, de-ma-sia-da”, “demasiado, demasiada”. |
| Michelle: “Dentro”. |
| Carlos: “Inside.” |
| Michelle: “Den-tro”, “dentro”. |
| Michelle: “Distinto, distinta”. |
| Carlos: “Different.” |
| Michelle: “Dis-tin-to, dis-tin-ta”, “distinto, distinta”. “Hogar”. |
| Carlos: “Family”, “home.” |
| Michelle: “Ho-gar”, “hogar”. “Ya”. |
| Carlos: “Now”, “already.” |
| Michelle: “Ya”, “ya”. |
| Michelle: “Muerto”. |
| Carlos: “Dead”, “worn out.” |
| Michelle: “Muer-to”, “muerto”. |
| Carlos: All right. Let’s have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Michelle: The first word we will look at is “muerto”. |
| Carlos: “Muerto”. |
| Michelle: Yep, that’s it. It means “dead.” |
| Carlos: Like “dead”, “dead.” |
| Michelle: “Dead” as a doornail but we just remember these things in context. |
| Carlos: How so? |
| Michelle: For example, what are Sofía and Gabriel doing? |
| Carlos: Well, they are moving which coincidentally, weren’t you in the same situation recently? |
| Michelle: Exactly and let me tell you, it’s exhausting which is why it makes sense that Gabriel would say “No sabes, estoy muerto…”, “You don’t know, I am dead.” |
| Carlos: So here it’s being used as an adjective. |
| Michelle: Yep, I could also say, “la mudanza me ha dejado muerta”. |
| Carlos: “Moving has left me dead.” |
| Michelle: Exactly, like here we see the context given in the conversation “I am dead” or “I am beat.” |
| Carlos: So I could apply that context to the verb “morir”, “to die”? |
| Michelle: Yes, you could. So using the related word, you could say “Estoy muriendo de hambre”. |
| Carlos: “I am dying of hunger.” So we aren’t saying officially dead like proper dead. |
| Michelle: I think that would kind of be impossible, Carlos. |
| Carlos: Good point. |
| Michelle: Next up is a very common word used way too much in my opinion. |
| Carlos: What? Do you mean “demasiado”, ahaha funny joke. |
| Michelle: Yep, “demasiado”. An adjective or adverb that means... |
| Carlos: “Too much”, “too many.” |
| Michelle: But in our conversation for the day, it is being used as “too many”. With Gabriel saying “para ser dos personas, tenemos demasiadas cosas.” |
| Carlos: “For two people, we have so many things.” Ah and I noticed something there? |
| Michelle: What’s that? |
| Carlos: Well, our word is “demasiado”. |
| Michelle: Yeah. |
| Carlos: But in our example, we heard “demasiadas”. |
| Michelle: And you know why that is? |
| Carlos: Yep, concordance. The noun being described by this adjective “demasiado”, “demasiada” is “cosas” which would then make it both feminine and plural “demasiado” becoming “demasiadas”. |
| Michelle: So then any adjective linked to that... |
| Carlos: Would also be feminine and plural. So “demasiado” once again becomes “demasiadas”. |
| Michelle: Good little random grammar point. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Carlos: Hey, when you are learning and you catch something like that, it’s a good thing. |
| Michelle: Right, but let’s look at “demasiado” in another context like... oh, here is one for you Carlos, “tú hablas demasiado rápido”. |
| Carlos: Story of my life. I’ve always been told that I talk way too fast. |
| Michelle: I actually think you slowed down when you speak Spanish. |
| Carlos: I have to. I still have to work out what I am going to say. |
| Michelle: Well, think on a related word, a very common one for this meaning. |
| Carlos: “Mucho” which is also an adjective and adverb which means “a lot of.” Now is this one hard for English speakers who want to learn Spanish? |
| Michelle: Nope, not at all. |
| Carlos: Now what’s next on our vocabulary plate? |
| Michelle: The adverb “dentro”. |
| Carlos: “Dentro”, “inside.” Now I don’t know if I know that because of the way it sounds or what but you know that word always makes sense to me. |
| Michelle: Well, think about the word without the “D” where you left with... |
| Carlos: “entro”. Ah okay, I see it now. Thank you for explaining that. |
| Michelle: No problem. Always here to serve. |
| Carlos: Now that I think about it, listening to the conversation, it makes sense. “Ya con todas las cosas dentro se ve muy distinta...”. |
| Michelle: “Now with everything inside, it looks really distinct.” |
| Carlos: Now that’s the one thing I like about moving. Once you finish and you get to rearrange everything once again, it’s a new environment very zen. |
| Michelle: Speaking of that, let’s rearrange that word in the environment of a new sentence. |
| Carlos: Okay. |
| Michelle: “Ponlo dentro de la gaveta”. “Put it inside of the drawer.” Now that I gave you that, you know an adverb that is very similar to “dentro”. |
| Carlos: Now you aren’t talking about “adentro” which also means inside. |
| Michelle: Exactly. Those two words aren’t different at all in meaning or sound. |
| Carlos: No, they aren’t very distinct. Are they? |
| Michelle: Speaking of our next word “distinto, distinta”. |
| Carlos: It ain’t like I did that on purpose. |
| Michelle: Of course not. |
| Carlos: Now I do know that “distinto” is an adjective that means “different” or “distinct.” |
| Michelle: I know I like to be distinct in my living space. |
| Carlos: And apparently so do Sofía and Gabriel. You know we already heard the example when they said “Ya con todas las cosas dentro se ve muy distinta... “ |
| Michelle: I love how your Spanish has improved but anyways, “now with everything inside it looks really distinct.” |
| Carlos: Everybody out there, you want to learn Spanish, get a girlfriend that don’t speak English. |
| Michelle: Or a boyfriend. |
| Carlos: Well, that’s your goal. I like girls. You know, women. |
| Michelle: Yes, I know. |
| Carlos: Now you know what Michelle, you do actually have a very distinct house. |
| Michelle: Yeah and we are about to get one that is a lot more distinct. “Esta casa es distinta a las otras”. |
| Carlos: Now why is your new house distinct from others? |
| Michelle: Well, because it’s mine. |
| Carlos: I had a feeling this isn’t like that. Now listen, can we also have just use this adjective “diferente”, “different”? Of course you could.. |
| Michelle: Of course you could but don’t you think “distinto, distinta” I mean I don’t know more distinct. |
| Carlos: I get your point. I mean to say a house is different, it can simply mean a different house. |
| Michelle: See so if you want to talk about something being unique, you would want to use the adjective “distinto, distinta”. |
| Carlos: And it is good to be distinct. Life is more interesting that way. |
| Michelle: Especially a distinct family home. |
| Carlos: Good leading because our next word, I had no idea what it meant. |
| Michelle: What? Are you serious, the masculine noun “hogar”. |
| Carlos: Yeah, “hogar”. Actually, “hogar” why would I even think about a house? |
| Michelle: Okay, well take a look where it is used in the conversation. |
| Carlos: “Sí, ya se siente más como un hogar”. “Yeah, now it feels more like a home.” So it means “home.” |
| Michelle: Have you ever heard the phrase “to make a house a home”? |
| Carlos: Yes, I have. |
| Michelle: Think of “hogar” as “home” while “casa” means “house”, there is a big difference between the two. |
| Carlos: You do have a point. |
| Michelle: I know I do. But here is another example just to make sure the meaning hit home. |
| Carlos: Shoot. |
| Michelle: “Hogar dulce hogar”. |
| Carlos: Ah okay, “home sweet home.” |
| Michelle: And we already brought up one of the related words. |
| Carlos: And that we did “casa”, “house”, and we know that... |
| Michelle: A house doesn’t necessarily make a home. |
| Carlos: Not without spanishpod101.com. It doesn’t. |
| Michelle: Not at all. Now last but not least, we have a very small but at times very overlooked word. |
| Carlos: And what’s that? |
| Michelle: It is used twice in our conversation today. |
| Carlos: Well, come on, what is it? |
| Michelle: The adverb “ya”. |
| Carlos: Oh I know this “ya”, “now”, “already.” You know, I already got into the habit of saying “ya” before I knew what it meant. |
| Michelle: What do you mean? |
| Carlos: Well, I think it kind of inferred its meaning because when someone was finishing up something and maybe I was ready to leave for example, I would simply say “ya”. |
| Michelle: Okay. |
| Carlos: Or when I finish something, I would say “ya”. So was I using it correctly? |
| Michelle: Yeah, actually it is. See, sometimes you can just sense what a word means. |
| Carlos: Hey, I call it a lucky guess. |
| Michelle: Let’s get rid of the luck factor. |
| Carlos: How so? |
| Michelle: Let’s really learn how to use it. Give me one instance where it was used in the conversation? |
| Carlos: “Ya con todas las cosas dentro se ve muy distinta…” |
| Michelle: “Now with everything inside, it looks really distinct.” |
| Carlos: Or “Sí, ya se siente más como un hogar”. “Yeah, now it feels more like a home.” |
| Michelle: So if you were listening to either of those sentences, you might miss the meaning. |
| Carlos: Oh yeah, easily. “Ya” is a lot easier to lose in a sentence than “ahora”. |
| Michelle: That is the obvious related word. |
| Carlos: Now could we have used “ahora” interchangeably with “ya”? |
| Michelle: You can but at least for me, I naturally just go towards the “ya”. |
| Carlos: Okay, I will definitely keep that in mind. |
| Michelle: As promised Carlos, today adjectives. |
| Carlos: You know I’ve studied adjectives quite a bit and I am not worried about that at all. |
| Michelle: Well, we aren’t even studying regular adjectives today. |
| Carlos: No, what type then? |
| Michelle: Today we are studying demonstrative adjectives. |
| Carlos: Ah, okay. Anything specific? |
| Michelle: Specifically we are going to look at the demonstrative adjectives “este”, “ese” and “aquel”. |
| Carlos: So this will be “this”, “that” and “that over there.” |
| Michelle: Good job. |
| Carlos: But wait, Michelle, before you ask because I know you are going to. An adjective modifies the meaning of a noun. |
| Michelle: Exactly. Do you have an example to go along with that definition? |
| Carlos: Sure let’s think about a glass table. Everybody close your eyes and think about a glass table. So here from saying glass table, glass tells us the characteristics of the table in a descriptive way but I have a question for you, Michelle. What makes a demonstrative adjective different? |
| Michelle: What makes a demonstrative adjective different from a regular adjective is that it indicates precisely which person/place or thing is being referred to. |
| Carlos: So like when you say precise, how precise are you talking? |
| Michelle: Well, for example, instead of describing the table’s glassiness, we can refer to it with reference to the person being spoken to. |
| Carlos: Hah! |
| Michelle: Okay, we can say “this table”, which is near us both, “that table”, which is only near you but not me, or “that table over there”, which is far from both of us. |
| Carlos: All right. So when you say it like that, I think I kind of understand. |
| Michelle: Ojo, when we are referring to something near the speaker and the person being spoken to, we say… |
| Carlos: Ah… |
| Michelle: Think in English, “this” or “that”? |
| Carlos: “This.” |
| Michelle: Exactly and how do you say “this?” |
| Carlos: “Este”. |
| Michelle: Perfecto. |
| Carlos: Now how I remember that is my opposite rule again. |
| Michelle: What opposite rule, remind me again? |
| Carlos: Well, I remember that “este” means “this” because I would immediately assume that it meant “that” because of the presence of the “T” but since I remember the way it doesn’t work because of the way I immediately assume it would, I know that it has different meanings. So “este” with the “T” is the equivalent of “this.” Just a little trick that works for me. |
| Michelle: Okay, I remember you saying that before but okay “this” is more “este”, is the masculine singular form. |
| Carlos: Right, so “esta” is the feminine singular. |
| Michelle: Good. So apply that to the plural. |
| Carlos: “Este” becomes “estos”, “esta” becomes “estas”. |
| Michelle: So we could say “Hace dos años que vivo en este departamento”. |
| Carlos: “I’ve lived in this apartment for 2 years.” |
| Michelle: Okay, so now what about when referring to something near the person being spoken to? |
| Carlos: I assume we are now talking about “that.” |
| Michelle: Yep. |
| Carlos: So using my same rule, I know that it would make sense in my mind for “ese” to mean “this” because of the absence of a “T”. See it all revolves around the “T “but since I remember that there is an opposite in play here, I know it means “that.” |
| Michelle: Hey, if that helps you to remember, I am all for it. |
| Carlos: So I assume you are following the same pattern. “Ese” is the masculine singular. So the feminine singular would be “esa”. |
| Michelle: And plural... |
| Carlos: “Esos”, “esas”, “that”, “those.” |
| Michelle: Excellent. I provided an example before, now you... |
| Carlos: “Ese tipo nunca va a cambiar la idea”. |
| Michelle: “That guy is never going to change his mind.” Now we’ve taken care of everything close to us but what about referring to something distinct from both the speaker and the person being spoken to? |
| Carlos: That will be “aquel”. |
| Michelle: Do you have a trick to remember that one? |
| Carlos: Actually no. Only because I know that means “that” or “those” also. I mean I could point my fingers at something far away and say “that” or “those.” This infers a closer proximity. |
| Michelle: Right, so “aquel”, the masculine singular. |
| Carlos: And “aquella”, the feminine singular |
| Michelle: And the plural... |
| Carlos: “Aquellos”, masculine plural and “aquellas”, feminine plural. |
| Michelle: You might hear older people saying this example. |
| Carlos: Which? |
| Michelle: “En aquella época, las cosas eran diferentes”. |
| Carlos: “Back then, things were different.” Yeah, no matter what language you speak, that is something old people will say. |
| Michelle: So seems easy enough, doesn’t it? |
| Carlos: Yep, it actually does. |
| Michelle: Well, don’t be fooled. Remember, all adjectives change in relation to the nouns they are modifying. So everything depends on the noun. |
| Carlos: I will remember that. I will burn it into my brain. |
| Michelle: Notice how demonstrative adjectives demonstrate the location of the thing being referred to in relation to the speaker and the person being spoken to. |
| Carlos: Right. That is the main difference. |
| Michelle: Let’s not forget that the verb “mostrar” which means “to show” is at the heart of the word “demostrativo”, “demonstrative.” |
| Carlos: I hadn’t thought about that. |
| Michelle: It’s easy to overlook. Make sure that you don’t confuse demonstrative adjectives with demonstrative pronouns. |
| Carlos: How can we avoid that pitfall? |
| Michelle: For example “no puedo aceptar eso”, “I can’t accept that.” Here the word “eso” is actually taking place of what I can’t accept. |
| Carlos: Right, but… |
| Michelle: See if it were “un regalo”, “a gift”, “no puedo aceptar eso” would be the pronominal form of “no puedo aceptar el regalo”. |
| Carlos: You know, I think that studying demonstrative pronouns would help me understand demonstrative adjectives even better. |
| Michelle: I think that is a good bet. |
Outro |
| Carlos: You know what guys, that just about does it for today. All right, ¡nos vemos! |
| Michelle: ¡Chao! |
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