UNIT NINE
Demonstratives
Demonstratives are words used to point out or ‘demonstrate’ which noun the speaker is
referring to, i.e. ‘this’ or ‘that, ‘these’ or ‘those’.
In Spanish they must agree in number and gender with the noun to which they refer, so
the words for ‘this’ and ‘these’ are as follows:
este (masc. sing.) este coche this car
esta (fem. sing.) esta casa this house
estos (masc. pl.) estos chicos these boys
estas (fem. pl.) estas ventanas these windows
este/esta/estos/estas are used to refer to things close to the speaker in either time or
space:
e.g. Me gusta este libro.
I like this book. (i.e. the one that is here, near me/in my hand)
Estos días tan felices.
These happy days. (i.e. the days that we are enjoying now)
There are two sets of words for ‘that’ and ‘those’ in Spanish, depending on the degree of
proximity in time or space of the object referred to:
ese/aquel (masc. sing.) ese/aquel día that day
esa/aquella (fem. sing.) esa/aquella mujer that woman
esos/aquellos (masc. pl.) esos/aquellos niños those children
esas/aquellas (fem. pl.) esas/aquellas casas those houses
ese/esa/esos/esas are used to refer to things slightly further removed than este/esta, etc.,
or close to the person being spoken to:
e.g. Dame ese periódico.
Give me that newspaper.
(i.e. the one near you)
¿Recuerdas esa semana que pasamos en Mallorca?
Do you remember that week we spent in Mallorca?
(i.e. the one familiar to both of us)