In this lesson, we cover demonstrative adjectives and pronouns in Spanish.
Demonstrative adjectives (this, that, these, those) come before a noun, e.g., “I want this book.” On the other hand, possessive pronouns (same as demonstrative adjectives: this, that, these, those) replace the noun and its possessive adjective, e.g., “I want this.”
Demonstrative adjectives and pronouns in Spanish must agree in gender and number with the described noun.
Possessive Adjectives
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” refer to nouns close to the speaker and listener.
On the other hand, “ese,” “esa,” “esos,” and “esas” refer to nouns close to the listener but far away from the speaker.
Finally, “aquel,” “aquella,” “aquellos,” and “aquellas” refer to nouns far away from both the speaker and the listener.
Possessive Pronouns
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. We use possessive pronouns 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 |
Quiz: Demonstrative Pronouns & Adjectives in Spanish
Next: Object Personal Pronouns
Other lessons in Level II: