Demonstrative pronouns

Esta ciudad es muy bonita

Such pronouns as “this”, “that”, “these” and “those” are called demonstrative. They are placed in front of a noun and determine the distance between the speaker and the objects.

When we say “this house”, we mean, that the house is somewhere near here. If we say “that house”, it gets clear, that the house is at some farther distance from us.

Unlike in English, in Spanish the space is abstractly divided not into two (near and far), but into three parts (very close, at some middle distance and far away).

Therefore, there are three demonstrative pronoun types that are widely used in Spanish. All of them can either be masculine or feminine, singular or plural.

Let’s take the masculine and feminine singular forms first.

Masculino

Este gato — This cat (very close)

Ese gato — This / that cat (not too close, not too far)

Aquel gato — That cat (far)

Femenino

Esta puerta — This door

Esa puerta — This / that door

Aquella puerta — That door

As there is no exact equivalent of ese (esa) in English, you may translate it both as “this” and “that”, considering that the object is at a relatively short distance from the speaker, but not too close. Let’s call it middle distance.

Este coche es nuevo y ese coche es viejo — This car is new, and that car is old

Este árbol es muy alto — This tree is very tall

Aquel chico es mi amigo — That boy is my friend

Esta casa es bastante bonita — This house is quite nice

En esa tienda hay comida barata — There is cheap food in that shop

En aquella calle siempre hay mucha gente — There are always many people on that street

Try it yourself:

This cupboard is low (close)

This window is wide (middle)

That cafe is very expensive (far)

This table is available, and that table is occupied

The difference between este, ese and aquel is very relative and subjective. The suitable pronoun is chosen from the speaker’s perspective only. What you choose is how you will be understood.

Plural

In plural each demonstrative pronoun ends with -s. The masculine forms are slightly modified, though.

Masculino plural

Estos gatos — These cats

Esos gatos — These / those cats

Aquellos gatos — Those cats

Femenino plural

Estas puertas — These doors

Esas puertas — These / those doors

Aquellas puertas — Those doors

Estos niños son muy buenos — These children are very good

En esos estantes hay muchos libros — There are many books on these shelves

Aquellos señores son profesores — Those gentlemen are teachers

Estas flores son amarillas — These flowers are yellow

Aquellas montañas están muy lejos — Those mountains are very far away

Try it yourself:

These hotels are modern (close)

Those houses are near the river (far)

These tourists are from Spain (middle)

Those newspapers are old (far)

These magazines are from France (middle)

Don’t confuse the pronoun esta with the verb está. The accent matters.

In a sentence demonstrative pronouns replace the definite articles el, la, los, las. They are interchangeable.

¿Cómo es el reloj? = ¿Cómo es ese reloj?

Los estudiantes están cansados = Aquellos estudiantes están cansados

¡Importante! Demonstrative pronouns don’t replace the indefinite articles un, una.

Don’t say: En mi habitación hay esta mesa

Esto vs. Ese

In the first lessons of this tutorial we used the words esto and eso in almost every sentence.

Esto es una mesa

¿Qué es eso?

These are also demonstrative pronouns, but they are pretty specific. They are standalone elements and used independently from a noun. Note, that there is no noun right after them. You can consider esto and eso as neutral and independent pronouns. Meanwhile este, ese, esta and esa are noun-dependent pronouns.

Esto es un teléfono — This is a phone

Este teléfono es de color negro — This phone is black

Eso es una camisa — That is a shirt

Esa camisa es de algodón — That shirt is made of cotton