Clear Spanish grammar
Spanish demonstratives: este, ese and aquel
Spanish demonstratives identify something by distance or discourse: this, that, or that over there. Every ordinary form agrees with the noun.
How it works
Understand the pattern
Este points to something near the speaker, ese to something farther away or near the listener, and aquel to something distant from both. Real conversation also uses these forms to organize time and ideas, not only physical space.
The neutral forms esto, eso and aquello refer to an unidentified thing, situation or idea. They never accompany a noun and have no plural: ¿Qué es esto?
The essentials
Three rules that clear up the confusion
- 1
Match gender and number: este libro, esta mesa, estos libros, estas mesas.
- 2
Use ese and aquel families for increasing distance, while allowing context to determine the exact contrast.
- 3
Use esto, eso or aquello only when there is no named noun to agree with.
Compare
Examples in complete sentences
Common mistakes
What to check before you answer
- 1
Do not write an accent on demonstrative pronouns in ordinary modern usage; RAE spelling normally uses este, ese and aquel without accents.
- 2
Do not say esto libro. Use este libro with a masculine singular noun.
Go beyond reading
Practise the rule through the guided course route
A short explanation, a task, answer checking and a direct return to the paragraph needed after a mistake.