Portuguese Grammar Guide

Demonstrative pronouns (e.g.: éste, ésas, aquellos)

On this page: Description, Questions, Exercises

Description

An Overview of Demonstrative Pronouns:

Demonstrative pronouns refer to nouns that are visible at the time of speech. They allow us to avoid the repetition of the entire noun, e.g.: ¿Cuál mueble te gusta más? Me gusta más éste por el material y la forma ("Which piece of furniture do you prefer? I like this one because of its fabric and shape").

Using Demonstrative Pronouns

The following table shows the forms demonstrative pronouns can take:

English translation masculine

feminine
singular plural singular plural
this/these one(s) (here, close to speaker) éste éstos ésta éstas
that/those one(s) (there, close to speaker) ése ésos ésa ésas
that/those ones(s) (over there, far from speaker) aquél aquéllos aquélla aquéllas

As seen in this table, masculine singular forms do NOT end in -o.

Note that demonstrative pronouns often have accents in order to distinguish them from demonstrative determiners, though the Real Academía Española (1999) states that the accents don't need to be used except to avoid ambiguity. Just remember that if there is no following noun, you can use accents and it is likely you will see accents. Do NOT use accents if there is a noun immediately following the demonstrative.

Demonstrative pronouns agree in gender and number with the nouns they replace and refer to. Some of the demonstrative pronouns are illustrated in the following examples:

  • ¿Cuál es tu carro, éste o aquél? Ése es mío. 'Which car is yours, this one or that one? That one is mine.'
  • No sé si es ésa o aquélla la que vamos a comprar. 'I don't know if it's that one or that (other) one that we are going to buy.' (pointing to items)

Spanish also has a set of neuter demonstrative pronouns that refer to general concepts. You can use these particular demonstrative pronouns, eso, esto or aquello, to refer to a general idea or concept without gender/number agreement. They are never written with an accent, e.g.:

  • Aquello ahí es la biblioteca pública. 'That over there is the public library.'
  • Hay elecciones este año y eso es muy bueno. 'There are elections this year and that is very good.'

Questions

Questions about Demonstrative Pronouns:

Q: Why is it Éste es el carro que quiero and NOT Ésta es el carro que quiero?

Demonstrative pronouns must agree in gender and number with the noun they refer to or replace.

Q: Why is it le gusta aquél allí and NOT le gusta esté allí?

Demonstrative pronouns should be consistent with adverbs of place (aquí 'here', ahí 'there, close to hearer', allí 'there, far from both speaker and hearer') that accompany them. Because allí means 'over there', it does not make sense to use it with éste.

Q: Why is it me gusta este libro and NOT me gusta éste libro?

Use the determiner (without an accent) before nouns, rather than a pronoun.

Q: Why is it van a traer ése and NOT van a traer éso?

Remember the masculine singular forms do NOT end in -o. If you want to use the neuter form, do NOT use an accent.

Exercises

Write the correct demonstrative pronoun based on the English phrase given. Remember to match the pronoun to the gender and number of the noun it refers to.

Those new trees are nice. Who planted that one (near)? > Esos árboles son lindos. ¿Quién plantó ?
Look at the mountains. Do you see that one (far)? > Mira las montañas. ¿Ves ?
This novel is better than those ones (near). > Esta novela es mejor que .
The child wants that toy, not this one. > El niño quiere ese juguete, no .
The stars are beautiful. Look how those ones (far) shine. > Las estrellas son hermosas. Mira como brillan .

Search the Guide: