When shopping for clothes, you'll often need to point things out. Demonstrative adjectives and pronouns in Spanish help you do just that. They show which items you're talking about, whether they're close by or far away.
These words change based on gender and number, matching the item you're discussing. They're super useful for comparing different clothing options or directing attention to specific pieces in a store.
Demonstrative adjectives and pronouns
Function and usage
- Demonstrative adjectives modify nouns or pronouns by indicating which one, how much, or how many
- Demonstrative pronouns replace nouns and indicate which one, how much, or how many
- In Spanish, demonstrative adjectives and pronouns point out specific people, places, things, or ideas in relation to the speaker's or listener's location
- They can express location or distance in space or time (aquí, allí)
- They also indicate emotional proximity or distance (este problema, aquella época)
Expressing abstract concepts
- Demonstrative adjectives and pronouns can be used metaphorically to express abstract concepts based on their proximity to the speaker's or listener's experience
- Time periods (esta semana, aquel año)
- Ideas (esa teoría, aquella filosofía)
- This allows the speaker to convey the relevance or immediacy of the concept to the current conversation or situation
Forms of demonstrative adjectives
Four demonstrative adjectives
- The four demonstrative adjectives in Spanish are:
- este (this)
- ese (that)
- aquel (that over there)
- their feminine and plural forms
- "Este" indicates objects close to the speaker (este libro - this book)
- "Ese" is used for objects close to the listener but farther from the speaker (ese carro - that car)
- "Aquel" indicates objects far from both the speaker and the listener (aquel edificio - that building over there)
Agreement with nouns
- Demonstrative adjectives must agree in number and gender with the nouns they modify
- The forms are:
- Masculine singular: este, ese, aquel
- Feminine singular: esta, esa, aquella
- Masculine plural: estos, esos, aquellos
- Feminine plural: estas, esas, aquellas
- Examples:
- esta casa (this house - feminine singular)
- esos perros (those dogs - masculine plural)
Location with demonstrative adjectives
Placement before nouns
- Demonstrative adjectives are placed directly before the noun they modify
- This differs from English where they can be placed after the noun
- "este libro" (this book) vs. "the book, this one"
- Correct: Esta manzana es roja (This apple is red)
- Incorrect: Manzana esta es roja
Directing attention in conversations
- In a conversation, the speaker can use demonstrative adjectives to direct the listener's attention to specific objects based on their relative locations
- Mira este cuadro aquí en la pared (Look at this painting here on the wall)
- ¿Te gusta esa blusa que lleva ella? (Do you like that blouse she's wearing?)
- This helps to clarify and emphasize the subject being discussed
Demonstrative pronouns for nouns
Replacing nouns
- Demonstrative pronouns replace a previously mentioned or implied noun to avoid repetition
- The demonstrative pronouns in Spanish are:
- éste (this one)
- ése (that one)
- aquél (that one over there)
- their feminine and plural forms
- Example: Me gustan estos zapatos, pero ésos son más cómodos (I like these shoes, but those are more comfortable)
- "ésos" replaces the noun "zapatos" to avoid repetition
Forms and accents
- Demonstrative pronouns have an accent mark to differentiate them from demonstrative adjectives
- The forms are:
- Masculine singular: éste, ése, aquél
- Feminine singular: ésta, ésa, aquélla
- Masculine plural: éstos, ésos, aquéllos
- Feminine plural: éstas, ésas, aquéllas
- The accent helps to signal that the word is being used as a pronoun rather than an adjective
Agreement with implied nouns
- Demonstrative pronouns must agree in number and gender with the nouns they replace, even if the noun is not explicitly stated in the sentence
- Example: Yo prefiero ésta (I prefer this one - feminine)
- "ésta" agrees with an implied feminine noun like "la camisa" (the shirt) or "la opción" (the option)
- The context of the sentence and the pronoun's form indicate the implied noun's gender and number