🎯 Main Idea
In English, we often use this + adjective to mean:
In Spanish, the idea is usually:
👀 Why “this”?
Use this when the speaker is referring to something near, current, visible, or recently experienced.
Imagine your friend is answering emails, cleaning the house, cooking, and taking phone calls. You ask:
this busy = busy like now / busy to this level
📊 Common Examples
| English | Meaning | Spanish |
|---|---|---|
| It’s this easy. | It is as easy as this. | Es así de fácil. / Es tan fácil. |
| I didn’t know it was this expensive. | I didn’t know it was so expensive. | No sabía que era tan caro. |
| Are you always this tired? | Are you always as tired as you are now? | ¿Siempre estás así de cansado? |
| It’s never this cold in April. | It is not usually so cold in April. | Nunca hace tanto frío en abril. |
| Was the test really this hard? | Was it really so hard? | ¿De verdad estuvo así de difícil? |
📘 Main Rules
Rule 1: Use it before an adjective
this can come before adjectives like busy, easy, hard, expensive, tired, cold.
✅ Correct: I didn’t know it was this easy.
✅ Correct: Why is it this expensive?
Rule 2: Use a verb
A full sentence usually needs a verb like be: is, are, was, were.
✅ Correct: It is this bad.
❌ Wrong: This bad.
Rule 3: It often means “surprisingly”
Many sentences with this + adjective express surprise.
✅ I didn’t expect the movie to be this good.
✅ I can’t believe traffic is this bad.
Rule 4: It compares with the current example
this points to the level we can see or understand now.
✅ Are hotels always this expensive here?
✅ Is your office always this noisy?
Say: It’s this bad. / It was this easy.
🌎 Spanish Connection
Spanish often uses tan or así de. English uses this + adjective.
| Spanish idea | Natural English | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| ES: así de ocupado | this busy | busy to this level |
| ES: tan caro | this expensive / so expensive | this connects to the current situation |
| ES: así de fácil | this easy | easy like this example |
| ES: tanto frío | this cold | cold to this degree |
⚖️ This vs. So vs. That
These words can all talk about degree, but they feel different.
| Word | Main idea | Example |
|---|---|---|
| this | like now / like this situation | I didn’t know it was this easy. |
| so | very / extremely / surprisingly | I didn’t know it was so easy. |
| that | like that previous idea / very in negative sentences | The movie wasn’t that good. |
📌 “This” usually points to now
📌 “That” often points away
That + adjective often refers to something already mentioned, or it means “not very” in negative sentences.
| Sentence | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Was it really that bad? | Was it as bad as people said? |
| The restaurant wasn’t that expensive. | The restaurant was not very expensive. |
| I’m not that tired. | I’m not very tired. |
It’s this bad. = Look at the current situation. It is bad to this level.
It’s not that bad. = It is not very bad.
➕ Related Forms
We can also use this with amounts, distance, and time.
| Pattern | Example | Spanish idea |
|---|---|---|
| this much | I don’t usually eat this much. | tanto |
| this many | I don’t usually get this many emails. | tantos / tantas |
| this far | We didn’t drive this far last time. | tan lejos |
| this long | I’ve never waited this long. | tanto tiempo |
| this often | Do you travel this often? | tan seguido |
✏️ Practice A — Fill in the Blank
Type the missing word or phrase.
🔍 Practice B — Error Correction
Rewrite each sentence correctly.
📝 Practice C — Rewrite the Sentence
Rewrite each idea using this + adjective or a related form.
🧠 Extra Notes for Students
1. “This bad” can be a fragment
In casual conversation, people sometimes use fragments:
This is common when the speaker shows a photo, makes a gesture, or points to an example.
✅ It’s this bad.
❌ This bad.
💬 Conversation Practice
Ask and answer these questions with a partner:
- Are weekends usually this busy for you?
- Is English grammar always this confusing?
- Have you ever seen traffic this bad?
- Are restaurants in your city usually this expensive?
- When was the last time you were this tired?
- Have you ever waited this long for an appointment?
✅ Quick Review
- this busy = busy like this / busy to this degree
- this often connects to now, here, or the current example
- so means very or surprisingly
- that often points to a previous idea or means “very” in negative sentences
- A full sentence usually needs a verb: It is this easy.