contrast.este-ese-aquel
Este, ese, aquel: choosing the distance
Este = near me; ese = near you or just mentioned; aquel = far from both, or remote in time. In practice ese covers most middle ground and aquel is fading in speech.
⚠ Stub: AI-drafted outline, not yet reviewed. The structure is permanent; the content will be expanded.
contrastA2stubdraftv0.1.0
Explanation
Spatial: este de acá, ese que tenés vos, aquel del fondo. Temporal: esta semana, ese día (anaphoric: the day we mentioned), aquellos tiempos (nostalgia).
Conversational reality: many speakers run a two-way system (este/ese) and reserve aquel for distance-with-style. Discourse use: esto no me gusta (this whole situation).
Examples
No quiero este; dame ese que está atrás.
I don't want this one; give me that one in the back.
I don't want this one; give me that one in the back.
Region: global
Aquella época era otra cosa.
Those days were something else.
Those days were something else.
Region: global