La -vs- Ella

[Vonderbach]

We are on lesson 1 using Rosetta Stone Latin American Spanish and we have already encountered our first road block. When showing a picture of a small girl eating, we choose the phrase "La nina come." makes perfect sense. But in another photo that shows a teenage girl (does this matter?) we are shown the phrase "ella come."

After researching and trying to wade through some very ambiguous explanations from other similar questions, I am left to assume the following:

La nina come = The girl eats
Ella come = She eats

Correct?

Now, how would this translate for the masculine?

El nino come = The boy eats
_____ come = He eats

I cannot figure out what would be the proper pronoun for the masculine form of that sentence?

And yes, this is basic stuff, so please bear with me. :D

[Perikles]

La nina come = The girl eats
Ella come = She eats

Correct?:good:

Now, how would this translate for the masculine?

El nino come = The boy eats
_____ come = He eats

I cannot figure out what would be the proper pronoun for the masculine form of that sentence?
The masculine equivalent of ella is él: él come.

By the way, in this box for replying to the thread, note the white rectangle at the top. Click on it and select characters such as ñ and é. :)

[Vonderbach]

Thank you Perikles! So the article and pronoun for masculine are the same?

Él nino come = The boy eats
Él come = He eats

Correct?

Btw, being so very new to Spanish, I don't have much knowledge on the accents. I suppose I should study up on the basics while it's fresh in my mind. :)

[Perikles]

Thank you Perikles! So the article and pronoun for masculine are the same?

Él nino come = The boy eats
Él come = He eats

Correct?

Well, not correct really, the difference being the accent (which is there to specify the difference)

definite artice the is el, la or lo depending on gender
personal pronoun: él

Because the verb ending tells you exactly who (say) is eating, Spanish omits the personal pronoun because it is often unnecessary.

So: (el) come he eats
el niño come the boy eats

But if you were emphasing that he was eating but she wasn't, then: él come

As for accents, I think it correct that they are very important because they are there to avoid ambiguity between words otherwise identical. In addition, they tell you how a word is pronounced.

[Vonderbach]

Thanks so much, I think I understand now.

Is there any difference in how to pronounce el and él?

[Perikles]

Thanks so much, I think I understand now.

Is there any difference in how to pronounce el and él?No - they sound exactly the same. As I said, the accent just serves to differentiate between the two written words. Having said that, the él could be when you are pointing at somebody specific, so you would be likely to emphasise the word anyway: I didn't do it, officer, he did.

[Vonderbach]

Excellent, thanks so much for clarifying all that. Now it's on to lesson 2. :)