The demonstratives show distance. this points to what is closest to the speaker. that points to what is near the listener or in an intermediate zone. that over there points to what is farthest from both. The choice depends on the real position of the object or the idea the speaker wants to present: this book is here, that book is there, that one over there is over there.

Rule of distance in the demonstratives

Idea
Use este when the person, thing, or idea is close to the speaker.
Use ese when the person, thing, or idea is close to the listener.
Use aquel when the person, thing, or idea is farther from both.

When the demonstrative accompanies a noun, it functions as an adjective: this car, that table, that house over there. When it substitutes the complete noun, it functions as a pronoun: this is mine, that one doesn’t work, that was incredible. The form changes only in number and gender when it accompanies or replaces: this, this, these, these; that, that, those, those; that one over there, that one over there, those, those. In pronominal use, the noun no longer appears.

Use of the demonstrative with or without a noun

Idea
The demonstrative functions as a determiner when it accompanies a noun.
The demonstrative functions as a pronoun when it substitutes the noun.
When the noun is already clear, the demonstrative can stand alone.

The word this is used for something the speaker has in hand, on the table, in front of the eyes, or very present in the situation. It also appears when the speaker introduces something new and places it close to their point of view: this problem, this idea, these documents. In a shop, this usually accompanies the immediate choice: I want this.

Use of this for immediate proximity

Usage	Explanation
Object in hand	Use este for something you can touch or show at the present moment.
Item on the table	Use este when the object is in sight and very close to the speaker.
Recently mentioned idea	Use este to point to something immediately present in the conversation.

It is used for what is near the person listening or for what the conversation places at a middle point. If someone points to a glass that is in front of the listener, they will say that glass. In everyday dialogue, that also serves when the speaker adopts the other person’s perspective: Could you pass me that pen?.

Use of ese for the listener's proximity

Usage	Explanation
Listener proximity	Use ese when something is closer to the listener than to you.
Shared perspective	Use ese when both look at an object and attention falls on the listener's area.
Reference in dialogue	Use ese to indicate something the other person just mentioned in the conversation.

That over there points to people, things, or ideas that are far from both interlocutors. It appears with objects at the back of a room, with distant places, and with memories or scenes set far in time: that town over there, that mountain, those days. It also gives a more narrative or evocative tone, as when talking about something remote with a certain emotional distance.

Use of aquel for distance and evocative tone

Usage	Explanation
Physical distance	Use aquel for people or things very far away from both interlocutors.
Emotional distance	Use aquel when you want to create a feeling more remote or nostalgic.
Narrative tone	Use aquel to give an air more literary or evocative to the reference.

The demonstratives do not only mark space. this can signal the present or a very near time: this week, this year, this moment. that can refer to a time near but not immediate, or to something that has just been mentioned: at that instant, at that moment. that over there usually points to a more distant past: that summer, those years. In discourse, this introduces an idea that comes right away, that recovers an idea already known, and that over there distances the reference to place it as more distant.

Temporal and discursive use of the demonstratives

Usage	Explanation
Very recent past	Use este to talk about something very recent in time.
Distant past	Use aquel to refer to a time more remote or remembered.
Already mentioned	Use ese to resume an idea already mentioned in the discourse.

In one conversation, the three demonstratives can organize a comparison or contrast. this presents the closest, that marks an intermediate or known option, and that over there places another option farther away. This is how people, moments, or ideas are distinguished without repeating names: this plan I like better than that, and that one over there I don’t even consider. They also serve to emphasize a clear opposition: this problem is urgent, that can wait, that one over there is already in the past.

Contrastive use of the demonstratives

Usage	Explanation
Contrast between options	Use este to highlight an option against another in a comparison.
Emphasis in rejection	Use ese to distance yourself from something without needing to describe physical distance.
Memorable selection	Use aquel to give special weight to a more distant or more marked option.

In many parts of the Americas, that over there appears quite naturally to express great physical or temporal distance, and in some contexts that and that over there can alternate depending on the speaker’s perspective. The choice does not change the basic idea of remoteness, but it can vary the local nuance or the style of the conversation. In narrative texts and in careful speech, that over there maintains its value of greater distance and a more evocative reference.

ese y aqueleseaquel

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En ciertos contextos, ese puede cubrir una distancia que en otros lugares se reserva más para aquelEn algunas conversaciones, ese y aquel pueden alternar para expresar mucha distancia según la perspectivaEn algunas zonas, aquel puede sonar más natural para señalar algo muy lejano con claridad

Regional variation of demonstratives

Region	Variant	Definition	Example
Mexico	ese y aquel	In some conversations, ese and aquel can alternate to express great distance depending on perspective.	Ese cerro se ve enorme desde aquí y aquel aún más misterioso.Ese hill looks enormous from here and aquel even more mysterious.
Argentina	ese	In certain contexts, ese can cover a distance that elsewhere is more often reserved for aquel.	Pasame ese libro que está allá al fondo como un tesoro dormido.Pass me ese book that is way in the back like a sleeping treasure.
Colombia	aquel	In some areas, aquel may sound more natural for clearly pointing out something very far away.	Aquel bus parece una luciérnaga con ruedas.Aquel bus looks like a firefly with wheels.

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