In this comparative grammar lesson of Romance languages: Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, & French, we study demonstrative adjectives and pronouns. Demonstrative adjectives (this, that, these, those) come before a noun, e.g., “I want this book,” while possessive pronouns (same as demonstrative adjectives: this, that, these, those) are used to replace a noun and its possessive adjective, e.g., “I want this.”
Table of Contents
- Demonstrative Pronouns & Adjectives in Spanish
- Demonstrative Pronouns & Adjectives in Portuguese
- Demonstrative Pronouns & Adjectives in Italian
- Demonstrative Pronouns & Adjectives in French
- Level II – Beginner
Demonstrative pronouns and adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun being described.
Demonstrative Pronouns & Adjectives in Spanish
The following are the demonstrative adjectives in Spanish:
| Masc. Singular | Masc. Plural | Feminine Singular | Feminine Plural | |
| this/these | este | estos | esta | estas |
| that/those | ese | esos | esa | esas |
| that/those (over there) | aquel | aquellos | aquella | aquellas |
In general, “este,” “esta,” “estos,” and “estas” are used to refer to nouns close to the speaker and listener. On the other hand, “ese,” “esa,” “esos,” and “esas” are used to refer to nouns close to the listener but far away from the speaker, whereas “aquel,” “aquella,” “aquellos,” and “aquellas” are used to refer to nouns far away from both the speaker and the listener.
Demonstrative pronouns are the same as demonstrative adjectives in addition to the set of neuter demonstrative pronouns “esto,” “eso,” and “aquello,” which mean “this,” “that,” and “that over there,” respectively. These are used to refer to a whole sentence or concept, e.g., “Esto no es aceptable” (This is not acceptable), or to point at something without mentioning it, e.g., “¿Qué es eso?” (What is that?). The following are the demonstrative pronouns in Spanish:
| Masc. Sing. | Masc. Plural | Fem. Sing. | Fem. Plural | Neuter | |
| this/these | este | estos | esta | estas | esto |
| that/those | ese | esos | esa | esas | eso |
| that/those (over there) | aquel | aquellos | aquella | aquellas | aquello |
Demonstrative Pronouns & Adjectives in Portuguese
Demonstrative adjectives and pronouns in Portuguese are similar to those in Spanish.
The following are the demonstrative adjectives in Portuguese:
| Masc. Singular | Masc. Plural | Feminine Singular | Feminine Plural | |
| this/these | este | estes | esta | estas |
| that/those | esse | esses | essa | essas |
| that/those (over there) | aquele | aqueles | aquela | aquelas |
In general, “este,” “esta,” “estes,” and “estas” are used to refer to nouns close to the speaker and listener. On the other hand, “esse,” “essa,” “esses,” and “essas” are used to refer to nouns close to the listener but far away from the speaker, whereas “aquele,” “aquela,” “aqueles,” and “aquelas” are used to refer to nouns far away from both the speaker and the listener.
Demonstrative pronouns are the same as demonstrative adjectives in addition to the set of invariable neuter demonstrative pronouns “isto,” “isso,” and “aquilo,” which mean “this,” “that,” and “that over there,” respectively. The neuter demonstrative pronouns have no gender or plural forms. These are used to refer to a whole sentence or concept, e.g., “Isto não é aceitável” (This is not acceptable), or to point at something without mentioning it, e.g., “O que é isso?” (What is that?). The following are the demonstrative pronouns in Portuguese:
| Masc. Sing. | Masc. Plural | Fem. Sing. | Fem. Plural | Neuter | |
| this/these | este | estes | esta | estas | isto |
| that/those | esse | esses | essa | essas | isso |
| that/those (over there) | aquele | aqueles | aquela | aquelas | aquilo |
Demonstrative Pronouns & Adjectives in Italian
Demonstrative pronouns and adjectives in Italian are more challenging.
Let us start with the demonstrative pronouns:
| Masc. Singular | Feminine Singular | Masc. Plural | Feminine Plural | |
| this (one)/these (ones) | questo | questa | questi | queste |
| that (one)/those (ones) | quello | quella | quelli | quelle |
In general, “questo,” “questa,” “questi,” and “queste” are used to refer to nouns close to the speaker. On the other hand, “quello,” “quella,” “quelli,” and “quelle” are used to refer to nouns far away from the speaker.
Let us take some examples:
| A: Which chair do you want? B: That one. | A: Quale sediaf vuoi? B: Quella. |
| A: Which language do you prefer? B: This one. | A: Quale linguaf preferisci? B: Questa. |
| A: Which books did you read? B: These ones. | A: Quali librim hai letto? B: Questi. |
| A: Which cell phone do you use? B: This one. | A: Quale cellularem utilizzi? B: Questo. |
| A: Which schools are the best? B: Those ones. | A: Quali scuolef sono le migliori? B: Quelle. |
The demonstrative pronouns “questo” and “quello” can also be used to refer to a whole sentence or concept, e.g., “Questo non è accettabile” (This is not acceptable), or to point at something without mentioning it, e.g., “Deve essere quello” (It has to be that).
Let us now examine the demonstrative adjectives.
In the case of the demonstrative adjectives of nearness, i.e., “this” and “these,” the demonstrative adjectives are identical to the demonstrative pronouns, that is, “questo,” “questa,” “questi,” and “queste.” For example, “questo ragazzo” (this boy), “questa macchina” (this car).
Notice that it is optional to use the form “quest’” instead of “questo” or “questa” before a noun that begins with a vowel, e.g., “quest’amica” (this friend) is short for “questa amica.”
In the case of the demonstrative adjectives of farness, i.e., “that” and “those,” recall from Level I, Lesson 7 that “quello” is one of two common adjectives that change form like the definite articles, depending on the number and gender of the following noun and whether the noun begins with a vowel or certain consonants.
| l’ | lo | il | la | i | gli | le | |
| quello | quell’ | quello | quel | quella | quei | quegli | quelle |
To summarize, the following are the demonstrative adjectives in Italian:
| Masc. Singular | Feminine Singular | Masc. Plural | Feminine Plural | |
| this/these | questo | questa | questi | queste |
| that/those | quell’ (V) quello(Z) quel | quell’ (V) quella | quegli(V)(Z) quei | quelle |
(V) before a noun (or preceding adjective) that begins with a vowel
(Z) before a noun (or preceding adjective) that begins with “z,” “gn,” “ps,” or “s” + consonant
Let us take some examples:
| A: Which chair do you want? B: That chair. | A: Quale sediaf vuoi? B: Quella sedia. |
| A: Which language do you prefer? B: This language. | A: Quale linguaf preferisci? B: Questa lingua. |
| A: Which books did you read? B: These books. | A: Quali librim hai letto? B: Questi libri. |
| A: Which cell phone do you use? B: This cell phone. | A: Quale cellularem utilizzi? B: Questo cellulare. |
| A: Which schools are the best? B: Those schools. | A: Quali scuolef sono le migliori? B: Quelle scuole. |
| A: Which of your uncles lives here? B: That uncle. | A: Quale dei tuoi ziim abita qui? B: Quello zio. |
| A: Which lawyers have you contacted? B: Those lawyers. | A: Quali avvocatim hai contattato? B: Quegli avvocati. |
| A: Which pants should I wear? B: Those pants. | A: Quali pantalonim dovrei indossare? B: Quei pantaloni. |
| A: Which of your friends works here? B: That friend. | A: Quale dei tuoi amicim lavora qui? B: Quell’ amico. |
Demonstrative Pronouns & Adjectives in French
In French, the demonstratives pronouns and adjectives are slightly different.
Let us start with the demonstrative adjectives.
| Masc. Singular | Feminine Singular | Masc. Plural | Feminine Plural | |
| this/that/these/those | ce/cet | cette | ces | |
In French, the demonstrative adjectives “ce,” “cet,” and “cette” can mean both “this” and “that.” The demonstrative adjective “cet” is used before a singular masculine noun that starts with a vowel or mute “h,” e.g., “cet arbre” (this/that tree), “cet homme” (this/that man), etc., whereas “ce” is used before any other singular masculine noun, e.g., “ce garcon” (this/that boy). The demonstrative adjective “cette” is used before a singular feminine noun.
Similarly, “ces” can mean both “these” and “those.” There is no real distinction of nearness and farness in the simple forms of the demonstrative adjectives.
To make such a distinction, we can add “-ci” or “-là” after the noun, for example:
| ce livre-ci | this book | ce livre-là | that book |
| cet homme-ci | this man | cet homme-là | that man |
| cette femme-ci | this woman | cette femme-là | that woman |
| ces chemises-ci | these shirts | ces chemises-là | those shirts |
Let us now examine the demonstrative pronouns:
| Masc. Singular | Feminine Singular | Masc. Plural | Feminine Plural | |
| this/that (one) these/those (ones) | celui | celle | ceux | celles |
In general, “celui,” “celle,” “ceux,” and “celles” do not appear on their own. They can appear with “-ci” or “-là” attached to the end of the demonstrative pronoun, or followed by “que,” “qui,” “de,” or a prepositional phrase. In the latter case, the demonstrative pronoun is often translated as “the one(s).” Let us look at some examples:
| Do you want this book or that one? | Voulez-vous ce livre ou celui-là? |
| I have two cars; this one is my favorite. | J’ai deux voitures; celle-ci est ma préférée. |
| For those who are overweight, exercise is very important. | Pour ceux qui sont en surpoids, l’exercice est très important. |
| I’m looking for the car; not mine but Pierre’s (that of Pierre). | Je cherche la voiture; pas la mienne mais celle de Pierre. |
| Which shirts? The ones that are there are not mine. | Quelles chemises? Celles qui sont là ne sont pas les miennes. |
When referring to a statement, an indefinite thing, or a previously mentioned idea, we use one of the following pronouns:
| ce/c’ | this/that | Used with the verb “être” | informal |
| ça | this/that | Used with verbs other than “être” | |
| ceci | this | Both “ceci” and “cela” can be used with any verb including “être” | formal |
| cela | that |
The pronouns “ce” and “ça” are often used in familiar situations in daily spoken language. The pronoun “ce” (or “c’” before a vowel or a mute “h”) is used before the verb “être” (to be), whereas “ça” is used with other verbs.
On the other hand, the pronouns “ceci” (this) and “cela” (that) are more formal and are often encountered in written French.
Here are some examples:
| That is interesting. | C’est intéressant. |
| This is a good idea. | C’est une bonne idée. |
| That is good news. | Ce sont de bonnes nouvelles. |
| Look at that. | Regarde ça. |
| I didn’t say that. | Je n’ai pas dit ça. |
| This is not acceptable. | Ceci n’est pas acceptable. |
| That has already been discussed. | Cela a déjà été discuté. |
Next: Object Personal Pronouns
Back to: Comparative Grammar Lessons
Other lessons in Level II:
