In this lesson, we cover demonstrative adjectives and pronouns in Portuguese.
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.”
Demonstrative adjectives and pronouns must agree in gender and number with the noun being described.
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 |
Next: Object Personal Pronouns
Other lessons in Level II:
