LingoflyDemonstratives: aquest, aquell — and "ho" for what was said
Two degrees in everyday use: aquest/aquesta — this, near: aquest telèfon, and aquell/aquella — that, further off: aquella casa. There is a middle one too, aqueix/aqueixa — "that one by you": the dictionary has it, but in most dialects aquest has taken its place. For example: “Aquest telèfon és el meu, aquell és el teu” — This phone is mine, that one over there is yours. A rule from the Catalan course: worked out on…
How it works
Two degrees in everyday use: aquest/aquesta — this, near: aquest telèfon, and aquell/aquella — that, further off: aquella casa. There is a middle one too, aqueix/aqueixa — "that one by you": the dictionary has it, but in most dialects aquest has taken its place.
About something already said, the neutral ho does the work.
Això no ho sé — I do not know that. Això names the topic, and ho replaces it inside the sentence.
By example
- Aquesta capsa és gran, aquella és petitaThis box is big, that one over there is small
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Demonstratives: how does it work in Catalan?
Two degrees in everyday use: aquest/aquesta — this, near: aquest telèfon, and aquell/aquella — that, further off: aquella casa. There is a middle one too, aqueix/aqueixa — "that one by you": the dictionary has it, but in most dialects aquest has taken its place.
What does it look like in a Catalan example sentence?
“Aquest telèfon és el meu, aquell és el teu” — This phone is mine, that one over there is yours. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.