Introduction
A demonstrative pronoun replaces a noun and points to it: this one, that one. Spanish has three distances.
| distance | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| near the speaker | este, estos | esta, estas | esto |
| near the listener | ese, esos | esa, esas | eso |
| far from both | aquel, aquellos | aquella, aquellas | aquello |
- ¿Quieres este libro o ese?this book or that one?
- Me gustan estas.I like these ones.
- Aquellos son mis primos.Those over there are my cousins.
These pronouns used to be written with an accent (éste, ésa, aquél). Since 2010 the Real Academia Española recommends no accent. You'll still see it in older texts.
Esto, Eso, Aquello
The neuter forms refer to an idea, a situation or something unknown. They never go with a noun and never change.
- ¿Qué es esto?What's this?
- Eso no me parece justo.That doesn't seem fair to me.
- Aquello pasó hace mucho tiempo.That happened a long time ago.
- ¿Qué es este? (pointing at an unknown thing)¿Qué es esto?
Pronoun or Determiner
Before a noun, este / ese / aquel are determiners. On their own they are pronouns.
- Esta camisa es cara.determiner
- Esta es cara.pronoun
Practice
¿Qué es ___? (pointing at an unknown object)
___ no es justo. (that situation)
No quiero esta mesa, quiero ___. (that one, near you)
___ son mis primos, allá lejos. (those over there)
Me gustan estos zapatos, pero prefiero ___. (those, near you)
¿Cuál quieres, esta o ___? (that one over there)
In Quiero este, no ese, ese is a ___.
How does the RAE recommend writing this one today?
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