Demonstratives · este / ese / aquel

A three-way distance system where English has two: este (here, by me) · ese (there, by you) · aquel (over there, away from both).

Examples

Spanish has THREE demonstratives, mapping roughly to physical or temporal distance:

ESTE (m sg) / ESTA (f sg) / ESTOS / ESTAS

this / these (close to me)

ESE (m) / ESA (f) / ESOS / ESAS

that / those (close to you)

AQUEL / AQUELLA / AQUELLOS / AQUELLAS

that / those (far from both, distant)

Examples:

Este libro es de Ana. — This book (here) is Ana's.

Ese libro es de Pablo.

That book (near you) is Pablo's.

Aquel libro es de Marta.

That book (over there) is Marta's.

Used as adjectives — placed BEFORE the noun (no accent):

esta casa, esos chicos, aquellos años.

Used as pronouns — same forms (older texts kept an accent: éste, ése, aquél; modern RAE drops the accent except for ambiguity).

NEUTER demonstratives — for an idea, situation, or unidentified thing:

esto, eso, aquello — no plural, no gender.

Always written without an accent.

¿Qué es esto? — What is this?

No quiero eso. — I don't want that.

Aquello es muy bonito. — That (over there) is very pretty.

Distance can be temporal too:

esta semana — this week

esa tarde — that afternoon (recent)

aquellos tiempos — those (long-ago) times

1. Pick the right distance (este/ese/aquel)
Match demonstrative to the speaker-listener distance.
- Este libro.This book.
- Aquel pueblo.That village (far).
2. Gender + number agreement
Match -e/-a/-os/-as to the noun.
- Estas casas.These houses.
- Esos chicos.Those boys.
3. Neuter forms (esto / eso / aquello)
Use neuter for ideas / unspecified things.
- ¿Qué es esto?What is this?
- Eso no es verdad.That isn't true.

Short drills built on these 3 skills, with instant feedback on every answer. Free to start.