Question 1

Why use aquel here instead of ese for "that"?

Accepted Answer

Both words mean "that", but Spanish has two words depending on distance. You use ese for something somewhat close (like near the person you are talking to). You use aquel for something far away from both of you, like "that landscape way over there in the distance".

Question 2

Is paisaje a masculine word? How can you tell?

Accepted Answer

Yes, paisaje (landscape) is masculine. You can tell in this sentence because it is paired with the masculine words aquel and oscuro. Also, a helpful rule of thumb is that Spanish nouns ending in -aje (like el mensaje or el viaje) are almost always masculine.

Question 3

Why is it gusta and not gusto, since "I" am doing the liking?

Accepted Answer

With the verb gustar, the sentence structure works backward compared to English. Literally, you are saying "That dark landscape is pleasing to me." Since the landscape (aquel paisaje oscuro) is the single thing doing the pleasing, you use the singular "it" form of the verb, which is gusta.

Question 4

Why does oscuro come after paisaje, but aquel comes before it?

Accepted Answer

In Spanish, descriptive adjectives like oscuro (dark) usually come after the noun they describe. However, demonstrative adjectives—words that point out exactly which thing you mean, like aquel (that over there), este (this), or ese (that)—always come before the noun.

Me gusta aquel paisaje oscuro.

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