Tarea: Los pronombres

Assignment:

• Write a composition of approximately 200 words on a topic of your own choosing, incorporating a reasonable number of pronouns —used correctly—
  OR:
• Translate the selection given below. The parts in parentheses are for information purposes and do not have to be translated. Note that since the narration often involves two different third-person singular subjects, “he” and “she”, subject pronouns may be required at times for clarity.
  

      I was walking along the beach, when I saw a man and a woman. He was tall and somewhat ugly; she was young and beautiful. They were talking to each other, and each had something in his/her right hand. I approached them, looked at the man, and said to him: “What do you have in your hand?”
     Each hid his/her right hand behind his/her back. Instead of answering my question, he said, “Who are you? Who are you looking for?”
     I told him I was a policeman, investigating something strange that had happened at precisely this same spot a few hours ago. Then I said to her, “Give it to me!”
     She stretched out her hand towards me, but refused to open it up. “Open it!” (the hand), I commanded.
     He grabbed her hand and said “You don't have to give it to him.”
     “If you wish, I can take you (plural) to the police station”, I replied.
     She started to cry, then said, “No, don't do that to us. Here, you can have it; take it.”
      I took it from her hand, and began to examine it. “What is it?” I asked.
     “It's nothing; it's just a ring,” she whispered.
     “And why didn't you want to show it to me? Is there something you're not telling me?” I asked them.
     He started to get angry and shouted “Can't you leave us alone? Don't you see we haven't done anything? I've been going out with her for almost six months now; I am in love with her and I just¹ asked² her to marry³ me. And you come along and interrupt everything.” He took the ring away from her, and dropped it in my palm.
     “That's ridiculous; I've caught you Mr. Reirreo, and you too, Miss Mimada. I, Detective Tonto, never make a mistake. Come with me to the police station, while I read you your rights. Let's see⁴, it's this way⁵... Or is that it over there?”⁶

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     ¹ The construction “to just (have done something)” was explained in the handout on perfect tenses, but is ordinarily not translated with a perfect tense.
     ² “To ask”: which verb or expression: preguntar, pedir, or hacer una pregunta?
     ³ “To marry me”: this expression involves a change of subject after a verb of influence (to ask/request), so which is used: an infinitive, the indicative, or the subjunctive?
     ⁴ “Let's see” can be translated with the idiom A ver, but there are other possibilities, too.
     ⁵ “This way” can be translated por aquí.
     ⁶ Remember the parallels between the relative distances for demonstratives and the adverbs for “here” and “there”:

éste, -a		——		aquí		(near the speaker)
ése, -a		——		ahí		(near the person spoken too)
aquél, -la		——		allí		(in the distance)