"Eu colocaria essa mesa lá."

Translation: I would put that table there.

[andreaparker]

I am finding the random translation of 'esse' as either 'this' or 'that' confusing......... and demotivating. Why are both not accepted, if they are interchangeable?

[Paulenrique]

check this out: http://duolingo.com/#/comment/233580

[Aschlla]

when people talk the word esse can be this or that
but

esta (feminine), este (masculine) means here, close to me

essa (feminine), esse (masculine) is something that is not so near as the first esta/este, but is not so far from me.

aquela (feminine), aquele (masculine) means something that is far from me (that)

[ArthurAAMaia]

Hey, I'm a native speaker so I think I can help you out.

So, "esse" and "este" aren't 100% interchangeable, but they are used interchangeably in colloquial portuguese.

But in a simple manner, they can be used in 2 different situations:

1) "Este" indicates something that is close to the person speaking, while "Esse" is used to refer to something that in close to the person that is hearing. For example:

"Vou comprar esta casa"
"Vou comprar essa casa da sua cidade"

2) "Este" indicates the present or a very close future, while "esse" indicates the past, or a close future.

"Esta noite vou ao cinema"
"Nesse ano, viajei a Paris" / "Nesse ano, viajarei a Paris"

Just remember that "nesse" is just the junction between "em" and "esse". Same applies for "neste" with "em" + "este"

Sidenote: In colloquial brazilian portuguese, people don't usually use verbs conjugated in the future, instead we use the verb "ir" plus the infinitive of the verb, for example:

Instead of using "ele comerá uma maçã", we use "ele vai comer uma maçã"
Or instead of using "Eu viajarei a Paris", we use "Eu vou viajar para Paris".

Sidenote #2: Instead of saying "para" (as in portuguese for "for"), we usually say "pra", just because it's easier.

[NathanielM147593]

I thought that "colocar" could also mean "to set" in the context of a table.