Demonstratives
A1 Los demostrativos 16 / 49
In short
Spanish points at things on three levels of distance: este (this, near me), ese (that, near you), aquel (that, over there). Each agrees with its noun; the neuter esto / eso / aquello points at an idea or an unnamed thing.
The rule
Where English has two demonstratives (this / that), Spanish has three, matched to who is near the thing:
- este - near the speaker (aquí, “here”);
- ese - near the listener (ahí, “there, by you”);
- aquel - far from both (allí / allá, “over there”).
Step 1 — Choose by distance: este / ese / aquel.
Step 2 — Agree with the noun in gender and number, and place it before the noun: este libro, esta casa, estos coches, estas mesas.
Step 3 — Idea or unknown thing -> the neuter esto / eso / aquello. These are invariable, never used with a noun, and refer to a whole situation or to something you can’t yet name: ¿Qué es esto? / Eso es verdad. What is banned is a noun right after them, not a following clause. They regularly take one (esto que me cuentas, eso que dices), pair with todo (todo eso), and take de + infinitive to name a whole habit (eso de llegar tarde, “that business of arriving late”).
The same gendered words act as pronouns (“this one”, “that one”): Quiero este. A pronoun can be narrowed by a de phrase saying which one: aquel del fondo, esa del escaparate. The old written accent (éste) is now optional by RAE guidance, and modern writing usually drops it. Distant time works like distant space: aquellos años = “those (long-ago) years”.
Forms & patterns
| Distance | masc. sg. | fem. sg. | masc. pl. | fem. pl. | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| this (near me) | este | esta | estos | estas | esto |
| that (near you) | ese | esa | esos | esas | eso |
| that (far away) | aquel | aquella | aquellos | aquellas | aquello |
Each degree pairs with a place adverb:
| Demonstrative | Place word |
|---|---|
| este / esta… | aquí / acá (here) |
| ese / esa… | ahí (there, by you) |
| aquel / aquella… | allí / allá (over there) |
In a sentence, attach the place word with de — after the noun or straight after the pronoun: esa silla de ahí, este de aquí, aquellas de allí.
Examples
| Español | English |
|---|---|
| Este libro es muy bueno. | This book is very good. |
| Quiero esas manzanas, por favor. | I want those apples, please. |
| Aquella montaña es muy alta. | That mountain (far off) is very tall. |
| ¿Qué es esto? | What is this? |
| Eso no es verdad. | That’s not true. |
| Prefiero este, no ese. | I prefer this one, not that one. |
| ¿Prefieres esta de aquí o aquella del fondo? | Do you prefer this one here or that one at the back? |
| Aquellos días fueron muy felices. | Those (long-ago) days were very happy. |
Common mistakes
- esto libro -> este libro - esto is the neuter and never accompanies a noun; use este / esta / estos / estas with nouns.
- esta problema -> este problema - problema is masculine (a Greek -ma word), so it takes este.
- ese casas -> esas casas - the demonstrative agrees in gender and number; casas is feminine plural.
- ¿Ves eso casa? -> ¿Ves esa casa? - for a known noun use the gendered form, not the neuter eso / esto.
- aquel for something by the listener -> ese - reserve aquel for things far from both of you.
Tips
- Map the three to distance from you: este = here (aquí), ese = there by you (ahí), aquel = way over there (allí).
- The neuter esto / eso / aquello has no gender and no plural — use it only for ideas or unnamed things (¿Qué es esto?).
- The gendered forms double as pronouns, so “this one” is simply este / esta — no word for “one” needed.
- The accent on the pronoun forms (éste, ése) is now optional; the neuters esto / eso / aquello never take an accent.
- ese and aquel also stretch into time: aquellos años = “those (distant) years”.