Demonstrative Adjectives in Spanish
Demonstrative adjectives communicate information about the distance of an item in relation to the speaker. In English, "this," "that," "these," and "those" are the demonstrative articles - meaning we differentiate by number ("this" and "that" are singular; "these" and "those" are plural) and by distance ("this" and "these" are near; "that" and "those" are far). In Spanish, we make those same distinctions, as well as showing gender (masculine or feminine). Also, Spanish has another level of distance to indicate something even farther away than "that" or "those." Here are the demonstrative adjectives in Spanish:
Este, esta, estos, and estas refer to nouns that are quite close to the speaker, often within reaching distance.
Ese, esa, esos, and esas refer to nouns that are further from the speaker, out of their reach.
Aquel, aquella, aquellos, and aquellas refer to items that are within view, but quite far away.
Note that the masculine singular forms do not end in "o" - this is a common mistake!
Examples:
Este árbol [This tree]
Estos árboles [These trees]
Ese árbol [That tree]
Esos árboles [Those trees]
Aquel árbol [That tree over there]
Aquellosárboles [Those trees over there]
Esta flor [this flower]
Estas flores [these flowers]
Esa flor [that flower]
Esas flores [those flowers]
Aquella flor [that flower over there]
Aquellas flores [thoseflowersoverthere]
| "this" and "these" (near items) | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | este | estos |
| Feminine | esta | estas |
| "that" and "those" (distant) | singular | plural |
| Masculine | ese | esos |
| Feminine | esa | esas |
| "that" and "those" (even more distant) | singular | plural |
| Masculine | aquel | aquellos |
| Feminine | aquella | aquellas |
Este, esta, estos, and estas refer to nouns that are quite close to the speaker, often within reaching distance.
Ese, esa, esos, and esas refer to nouns that are further from the speaker, out of their reach.
Aquel, aquella, aquellos, and aquellas refer to items that are within view, but quite far away.
Note that the masculine singular forms do not end in "o" - this is a common mistake!
Examples:
Este árbol [This tree]
Estos árboles [These trees]
Ese árbol [That tree]
Esos árboles [Those trees]
Aquel árbol [That tree over there]
Aquellosárboles [Those trees over there]
Esta flor [this flower]
Estas flores [these flowers]
Esa flor [that flower]
Esas flores [those flowers]
Aquella flor [that flower over there]
Aquellas flores [thoseflowersoverthere]
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