Ese libro es grande, pero el mío es pequeño.

small

Breakdown of Ese libro es grande, pero el mío es pequeño.

• ser: to be
• grande: big
• el libro: the book

Questions & Answers about Ese libro es grande, pero el mío es pequeño.

What does ese mean in this sentence and how do demonstrative adjectives work in Spanish?

In Spanish, ese is a demonstrative adjective meaning that (near the listener or context). It modifies libro. Demonstrative adjectives (este, ese, aquel) agree in gender and number with the noun and indicate relative distance: este (this, close to the speaker), ese (that, close to the listener), aquel (that over there, far from both).

Why is there no accent on ese, and what’s the rule for accents with demonstratives?

Spanish no longer requires diacritics on demonstrative adjectives (and pronouns). Ese is a llana (stress on the penultimate syllable) ending in a vowel, so under normal accent-uation rules it doesn’t carry a written accent.

How is ese different from este and aquel?

They form a three-level distance scale. Use este for something near you (the speaker), ese for something near your listener or just mentioned, and aquel for something far from both speaker and listener.

Why do we say el mío instead of mi mío, and what’s the difference between mi and mío?