Demonstrative pronouns point to things and sometimes show whether something is near or far from the speaker or listener. They help make speech and writing more precise by replacing nouns with short signals like este, ese and aquel.
Spanish Demonstrative Pronouns
Spanish demonstrative pronouns change form to show gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural), and they also signal distance relative to the speaker and listener. They often carry accents to distinguish them from demonstrative adjectives.
Pronouns Near the Speaker: este, esta, estos, estas
Use este and its forms to refer to things close to the speaker, whether physically nearby or conceptually near in time or discourse. They replace a noun and agree in gender and number with what they point to.
| Spanish Pronoun | English Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| este | this (near me) | |
| esta | this (feminine, near me) | |
| estos | these (near me) | |
| estas | these (feminine, near me) |
This book is interesting.
Pronouns Near the Listener: ese, esa, esos, esas
Use ese and its forms to refer to things that are near the listener or at a short distance from the speaker. They function as pronouns by standing in for a noun and match in gender and number.
| Spanish Pronoun | English Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| ese | that (near you) | |
| esa | that (feminine, near you) | |
| esos | those (near you) | |
| esas | those (feminine, near you) |
Pronouns Far from Both: aquel, aquella, aquellos, aquellas
Use aquel and its forms to point to things that are distant from both the speaker and the listener, either physically far away or figuratively distant. They replace nouns and align in gender and number.
| Spanish Pronoun | English Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| aquel | that (over there) | |
| aquella | that (feminine, over there) | |
| aquellos | those (over there) | |
| aquellas | those (feminine, over there) |
Neuter Forms: esto, eso, aquello
The neuter pronouns esto, eso and aquello refer to ideas, actions or unidentified things rather than to nouns with gender. Use them when pointing to a concept, a situation, or when the object is not specified.
| Spanish Pronoun | English Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| esto | this (idea or unidentified) | |
| eso | that (idea or unidentified) | |
| aquello | that (over there, idea or unidentified) |
Summary
Demonstrative pronouns in Spanish signal position relative to the speaker and listener and agree in gender and number with the noun they replace. Use este/esta for things near you, ese/esa for things near the listener, aquel/aquella for distant things, and the neuter forms for abstract or unspecified things.
Last updated: Fri Oct 24, 2025