LinguaThree distances, not two
English has this and that. Spanish has three steps: este for what is next to the speaker, ese for what is a little further or next to the listener, and aquel for what is far from both. Each one agrees with its noun in gender and number, like an adjective.
| Distance | masc. sing. | fem. sing. | masc. pl. | fem. pl. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| here, by me | este | esta | estos | estas |
| there, by you | ese | esa | esos | esas |
| over there, far | aquel | aquella | aquellos | aquellas |
Watch the masculine singular: este and ese end in -e, not -o. The plurals then go back to the pattern you expect: estos, esos, aquellos.
Esto, eso, aquello: when you do not know the word
The neutral forms esto, eso, aquello point at something without naming it – an object whose word you do not know, or an idea. ¿Qué es esto? Eso es verdad. They never stand next to a noun and they have no plural.
| Phrase | Use it when |
|---|---|
| ¿Qué es esto? | you hold something and want its name |
| Eso es verdad. | you agree with what was just said |
| Aquello es un museo. | you point at a far building |
Aquí, ahí, allí: the same three steps for places
The place words follow the same ladder: aquí (here) goes with este, ahí (there) with ese, allí (over there) with aquel. Esta casa aquí, esa casa ahí, aquella casa allí.
Este café es muy bueno, pero aquel restaurante es caro.This café is very good, but that restaurant over there is expensive.
¿Qué es eso? – Es un regalo para ti.What is that? – It is a present for you.
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| este | this (masculine) | Este libro es interesante. This book is interesting. |
| esta | this (feminine) | Esta mesa es pequeña. This table is small. |
| ese | that (masculine) | Ese chico es mi hermano. That boy is my brother. |
| esa | that (feminine) | Esa casa es de mis abuelos. That house belongs to my grandparents. |
| aquel | that (far, masculine) | Aquel hombre es el profesor. That man over there is the teacher. |
| aquella | that (far, feminine) | Aquella montaña es muy alta. That mountain over there is very high. |
| esto | this (unnamed thing or idea) | Esto no es un problema. This is not a problem. |
| eso | that (unnamed thing or idea) | Eso es muy importante. That is very important. |
| aquí | here | Aquí hay dos sillas. Here there are two chairs. |
| allí | over there | Mis padres viven allí. My parents live over there. |
Exercises
This lesson has 10 exercises in the app:
- multiple choice: 3
- match the pairs: 1
- fill the gap: 2
- build the sentence: 1
- translate the sentence: 2
- listen and type: 1
Try the first one
You are holding a pencil. Which word do you use to point at it?
The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.