Demonstratives
Demonstratives
English points at things with two words — this and that. Spanish has three, adding a middle distance you'll have to get used to marking.
Grammar Comparison
Grammar Comparison
Three distances, not two
este (this, near me), ese (that, near you), aquel (that, far from both of us)
this (near me) / that (not near me) — only two distances
English collapses everything that isn't 'here' into a single word, 'that'. Spanish splits that space into two: ese for something near the person you're talking to, and aquel for something far from both of you. There's no English word to map aquel onto directly — you'll need to build a genuinely new three-way instinct.
Demonstratives agree with the noun
este libro (masc.) / esta casa (fem.) / estos libros (masc. pl.) — four forms per distance
this book / this house / these books — 'this'/'these' only changes for number, never gender
Like other Spanish adjectives, demonstratives agree in both gender and number, giving each of the three distance-words four forms (este/esta/estos/estas, and so on). English 'this' only splits into 'this' and 'these' for number — gender never enters into it.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
- English
- this (masc.)
- English
- this (fem.)
- English
- these (masc.)
- English
- that (near you, masc.)
- English
- that (near you, fem.)
- English
- those (near you)
- English
- that (far away, masc.)
- English
- that (far away, fem.)
- English
- those (far away)
- English
- this (neutral/unknown thing)