Spanish Demonstratives

Demonstrative

Adjectives and Pronouns

Which flag? –

THIS flag.

Demonstrative adjectives and

pronouns DEMONSTRATE,
which means “show.”

English has two sets of
demonstrative adjectives:

Do you want
THIS apple? →

No, I want THAT
apple.

But what if there are TWO apples?

You wouldn’t say, “I want this apples” or “I want that

apples.”

SURPRISE! In English, you have to change
demonstrative adjectives to make them agree in

number with the noun:

I want THIS apple. BUT . . . I want THESE apples.
I want THAT apple. BUT . . . I want THOSE apples.

Spanish looks a little less strange now, huh?

masculine feminine

estos (these) estas (these)

esos (those) esas (those)

Plural

masculine feminine

este (this) esta (this)

ese (that) esa (that)

Singular

Spanish Demonstrative Adejctives

Guess what: Spanish has THREE

demonstrative adjectives:

Do you want this apple?
¿Quieres esta manzana?

Do you want that apple?
¿Quieres esa manzana?

No. I want that apple way over there.
No. Quiero aquella manzana.

*aquel, aquella, aquellos, aquellas (these are used for things far away from both the speaker and the listener.

​Here are some rhymes to help you keep the words straight.

This has a t, that just an e and aquel is the one you can barely see.


This and these have got t´s, that and those no t goes and aquel is far away.

Multiple Select

Which two words mean ¨this¨?

• este

• ese

• esta

• esa

Multiple Select

Which two words mean ¨those¨?

• estos

• estas

• esos

• esas

Multiple Choice

Which word could you use to indicate something is far away from the speaker and the listener?

• estos

• aquel

• esa

• este

Position of Demonstrative Adjectives

Unlike descriptive adjectives, which go after the noun in Spanish, demonstrative adjectives go in front of the nouns the same as they do in English.

You have to remember to make the demonstrative adjective masculine or feminine and singular or plural to match the noun.

that shirt = esa camisa

these shoes = estos zapatos

that house (over there) = aquella casa

Multiple Choice

How would you say ¨this coat¨?

• este abrigo

• esta abrigo

• abrigo este

Nosotros vamos a comprar estos zapatos.
We are going to buy these shoes.

vs.
Ellos van a comprar aquéllos.
They are going to buy those (over there).

Examples:

Adjective: Ella tiene esa camisa.
She has that shirt.

vs. Ella tiene ésa. = She has that one.

You can turn the demonstrative adjectives to pronouns by simply adding an accent mark to the first ¨e¨.

Demonstrative Pronouns

You would NEVER say, “Quiero ese uno” for “I want

that one.” You’d just say “Quiero ése.“

Quiero ese libro. – Quiero ése.
I want that book. – I want that one.

Quiero esos libros. – Quiero ésos.
I want those books. – I want those.

Quiero aquella silla. – Quiero aquélla.
I want that chair way over there. – I want that one way

over there.

Quiero aquellas sillas. – Quiero aquéllas.
I want those chairs way over there. – I want those way

over there.

Multiple Choice

How would you say ¨this one¨, if one refers to camisa?

• esta

• ésta

• aquélla

Multiple Choice

How would you say ¨that one¨ if one refers to a book?

• éste

• ésta

• ése