Spanish demonstratives are words like este, ese, and aquel that point to people, places, or things. Students need them to describe which object they mean and how close it is to the speaker or listener. This cheat sheet helps grades 6-8 compare forms by distance, gender, and number.
It also shows how demonstratives work before nouns and as pronouns.
The main idea is that este means this or these near the speaker, ese means that or those near the listener, and aquel means that or those far from both. Each demonstrative changes to match the noun in gender and number, such as este libro, esta mesa, estos libros, and estas mesas. When the noun is not repeated, the demonstrative can stand alone as a pronoun, such as Quiero este.
The neuter forms esto, eso, and aquello are used for ideas, situations, or unknown things.
Key Facts
- Este, esta, estos, and estas mean this or these and point to something near the speaker.
- Ese, esa, esos, and esas mean that or those and point to something near the listener or not very far away.
- Aquel, aquella, aquellos, and aquellas mean that or those over there and point to something far from both speaker and listener.
- A demonstrative adjective comes before a noun and must match it in gender and number, as in esta mochila and esos lápices.
- A demonstrative pronoun replaces the noun and still agrees with the noun it refers to, as in Prefiero aquella.
- The neuter forms esto, eso, and aquello do not change form and are used for unknown things, ideas, or whole situations.
- Masculine singular forms are este, ese, and aquel, and feminine singular forms are esta, esa, and aquella.
- Plural forms add the correct plural ending, such as estos, estas, esos, esas, aquellos, and aquellas.
Vocabulary
- Demonstrative
- A word that points to a specific person, place, thing, idea, or situation.
- Este
- A demonstrative used for something close to the speaker, meaning this or these depending on the form.
- Ese
- A demonstrative used for something near the listener or somewhat distant, meaning that or those depending on the form.
- Aquel
- A demonstrative used for something far from both the speaker and listener, meaning that over there or those over there.
- Agreement
- The rule that a demonstrative must match the noun it describes or replaces in gender and number.
- Neuter form
- A form such as esto, eso, or aquello used for an idea, unknown object, or whole situation instead of a specific noun.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Using este with a faraway object is wrong because este points to something near the speaker, while aquel points to something far away.
- Forgetting gender agreement is wrong because a feminine noun needs a feminine demonstrative, such as esta casa instead of este casa.
- Forgetting number agreement is wrong because plural nouns need plural demonstratives, such as esos libros instead of ese libros.
- Using esto before a noun is wrong because neuter forms do not modify nouns, so say este problema instead of esto problema.
- Choosing ese and aquel as if they mean the same thing can be wrong because ese is closer or near the listener, while aquel is farther from everyone.
Practice Questions
- 1 Choose the correct demonstrative: ___ cuadernos are near you, the speaker. Options: estos, esas, aquellos.
- 2 Fill in the blank with the correct form of aquel: ___ montañas are far from both the speaker and listener.
- 3 Translate to Spanish: I want that backpack near you.
- 4 Explain when you would use esto instead of este, and give one example situation.