This, that, these, those

English has two pointing words: "this" for something close and "that" for something farther away. Spanish has three, and each one changes to match the gender and number of the noun.

Three Distances

• este means "this": close to the speaker.
• ese means "that": close to the person you are talking to, or a little away from you.
• aquel means "that over there": far from both of you, or far back in time.

These line up with the words for "here" and "there": aquí goes with este, ahí with ese, and allí or allá with aquel.

The Forms

Watch the masculine singular: it is este and ese, not esto or eso. Those two words have a different job, explained below.

Examples

• este libro - this book
• esta casa - this house
• estos días - these days
• estas cosas - these things
• ese perro - that dog
• esa puerta - that door
• esos niños - those children
• aquel hombre - that man (over there)
• aquella noche - that night (long ago)
• aquellos años - those years

Matching the Noun

The demonstrative agrees with the noun, not with you. A man and a woman both say esta mano (this hand), because mano is feminine. A group of mixed or masculine nouns uses the masculine plural: estos chicos can mean "these boys" or "these kids".

Some words look masculine but are feminine, or the other way around. El problema is masculine, so it is este problema. La foto is feminine, so it is esa foto. Feminine nouns that take el in the singular, like el agua, still use the feminine demonstrative: esta agua (this water).

Without a Noun

You can drop the noun when it is clear what you mean. The word stays the same and still matches the noun you have in mind.

• Quiero este. - I want this one (a book, el libro).
• Prefiero esa. - I prefer that one (a house, la casa).
• ¿Te gustan estos? - Do you like these?

Older books often write these with an accent (éste, ésa). Today the accent is not needed, but you will still see it.

Esto, Eso, Aquello

When you do not know what something is called, or you are talking about an idea or a situation, use the neutral forms. They never change and never go before a noun.

• ¿Qué es esto? - What is this?
• Eso es verdad. - That’s true.
• No entiendo eso. - I don’t understand that.
• ¿Te acuerdas de aquello? - Do you remember that (thing, long ago)?

They are very useful for a new speaker: point and say ¿Qué es eso? to learn the name of anything.

Ese or Aquel?

In everyday Latin American speech, ese is by far the most common way to say "that", even for things quite far away. Aquel is used when you need to stress real distance, or when you talk about the distant past: En aquella época no había internet. - Back then there was no internet.

If you are not sure, use ese. It is never wrong for "that".