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Okay, before I break my fist and my computer, can somebody explain the difference between all of these nessas and nisto examples. I look on other sites for explanations and I still don't get it.
Este/esta = this/that - object or person close to the person speaking. Eg. Este livro, esta caneta
Isto = este coisa/esta coisa
Esse/essa = this/that - object or person close to the person you are speaking to.
Isso = esse coisa/essa coisa
Aquele/aquela = this/that - object or person away from both the person speaking and the person you are speaking to.
Aquilo = aquele coisa/aquela coisa
Deste = de + este Disso = de + isso Daquilo = de + aquilo Etc.
Neste = em + este Nisto = em + isto Naquela = em + aquela Etc.
Is "These sandals have flies" correct? Or is it the same idea but not a correct translation? Also, would "Essas sandálias têm moscas" be correct?
Yes, the same idea but expressed in other words. Your translation is correct (essas sandâlias têm moscas) but the way Duo used tÊm is wrong in that sentence!
Thanks for pointing out the error. I was confused because I thought that "têm" meant "they have" and not "there are", but the sentence only made sense with "there are".
So "têm" is wrong? Is that the case for every preposition or only for "nessas"? Just before there was this sentence: "Tem moscas naquelas botas"... Here "tem" was used...
It is wrong because "there is/are" is always "tem", never "têm". Actually, it is not related to the rest of the sentence.
Indeed, but in Brazil we do confuse "essas" and "estas" and we actually use both meanings for "essas".
So it's ok.
And I thought "tem" means "there is", when "têm" would be "(they) have"..?
Tem = "he/she/it has" and "there is" (singular). Têm = "they have" and "there are" (plural) ...I think, but maybe one of these helpful native speakers will correct me or explain better.
Ah, ok. I was thrown by Duo's translation, but I read above you said, "...the way Duo used tÊm is wrong in that sentence!" Now, I understand. I am impressed with how patient and helpful you (and a few others) are in your replies. Muito obrigado
no problem!!=) the process of learning requires much work and time. We all are still learning =)
Is there a difference in pronouncing the "there is" tem and the "he/she/they have" tem?
Can someone correct me, shouldn't it be "in these sandals", not those. Wouldn't those be "nestes"?
Nestes / nestas / nesses / nessas = in these
Nesses / nessas / naqueles / naquelas = in those.
But you put nesses / nestas in both lines... can they mean both? Prepositions kill me!
Well, actually, the preposition is "em" (embedded in the starting "n")
The demonstratives are "este, esse, aquele".
With "em", they turn into: neste, nesse, naquele
With "de", they turn into: desde, desse, daquele
- Este is for things near the speaker (this)
- Esse is for things near the listener (that)
- Aquele is for things far from both (that)
In Brazil, "esse" is very very confused with "este" and it gets both meanings, but never the "far" one.
How can 'nesses/nessas' be 'in these' and 'in those' ? How does that make any sense?
You say that nessas = in these. Why is it that duo still tells me that I made a mistake?
I understand that it's "complicated" in real life, but if Duo keeps separating este(etc.) = this and esse(etc.) = that, shouldn't it do the same with nestes (these) and nesses (those)? ;)
I agree with Paulenrique. The problem is that in English we have 2 modes for distance while in Portuguese we have 3. So, in reality, Nessa/Nesse is interchangeable, it can mean both this and that.
Nesta / nestas (closest) = This / these Nessa / nessas (close) = This or That / these or those Naquela / naquelas (farther) = That / those
And I don't think Duolingo made this change yet.
Exactly. And we also have the spoken language. When writing, we should pay attention to the correct use of demonstrative pronouns/adjectives, not the same when speaking.
It is common in the spoken language to use "tem" without an explicit subject to replace "há" (there is/are). As others have mentioned, Duolingo's sentence uses the plural "têm" not "tem" which is a mistake if the translation is meant to be "there are".
On the other hand, if a pronoun like "Eles" or "Vocês" has been dropped, "They/You have ..." is the correct translation.
