Spanish Grammar Explained /
This and that
Demonstrative pronouns (this, these, that and those) are used to point or refer to things in a more emphatic way. Or, as the word implies, 'to demonstrate' in the sense of showing something.
- Do you like these chairs here?
- No, I prefer those ones over there.
- How about that table?
- I like this one here better.
In English, there are two types of demonstrative pronouns:
| Near in time or distance | → | this, these (here) |
| Far in time or distance | → | that, those (there) |
The "far in time or distance" category splits into two pronouns in Spanish and while they say it is a question of how far, no one really knows how far we are actually talking about. Different speakers might use these slightly differently.
| Near in time or distance | → | este, esta (aquí) |
| Not too far in time or distance | → | ese, esa (ahí) |
| Far in time or distance | → | aquel, aquella (allí) |
As there are two types of "that/those" in Spanish, there are also two types of "there". Again, depending on the distance, we say ahí and allí.
Another way of seeing it:
| If the car is close to the speaker → | este carro | aquí |
| If the car is close to the person spoken to → | ese carro | ahí |
| If the car is far from both → | aquel carro | allí |
And what about the plural forms? Estes carros?
Uy, no! Nice catch! Here you are:
| Singular | → | Plural |
| este carro | → | estos carros |
| esta camisa | → | estas camisas |
| ese carro | → | esos carros |
| esa camisa | → | esas camisas |
| aquel carro | → | aquellos carros |
| aquella camisa | → | aquellas camisas |
Now, read these examples, and try to imagine where speaker and addressee are standing.
Este carro de aquí es buenísimo.
This car over here is really good.
Carmen vive en esa casa de ahí.
Carmen lives in that house over there.
Aquel árbol de allí es un álamo.
That tree over there is a poplar.
You can't deny that Spanish gives you a clearer picture! :)