The Demonstrative Adjectives and Pronouns (Spanish)

First let us explain what is a Demonstrative. A demonstrative is a word you use to help "demonstrate" or single out a noun.

In English the demonstrative pronouns and adjectives are This, These, Those, That.

Demonstratives are those words that we use to "point out" certain nouns. For instance, "That chair" or "This book"

"That" & "This" are helping us distinguish the noun as the main subject of the sentence.

This house is huge! (in other words, "this house" stands out as huge compare to others)

In English the demonstrative demonstrative adjectives and demonstrative pronouns are the same, BUT in Spanish, they are and they are not, all at once! (we will come back to this) :D

_________________________________________________

So let's start with the basics: the difference between the demonstrative adjectives and demonstrative pronouns.

The demonstrative adjectives need to be connected to the noun (ex. that chair, this guy, that house over there). Technically, they are not really describing anything, they just complement the noun to later be distinguished and described with more detail

The demonstrative pronouns: they are doing the same basic job, however, they completely replace the noun. ("that one" instead of "that chair")

For instance, you are taking a walk with your friend around the neighborhood and you both see a house painted yellow and green:

Your friend talks about the home first: "That house is painted different than the other homes"

So you, now knowing which home he is talking about, answer by saying: "Yeah, that one is weird."

Your friend used the demonstrative adjective, and you used the demonstrative pronoun

Now that we got that out of the way, let me explain what I meant by the demonstratives in Spanish being the same and at the same time not being being the same.

Well, the spelling is technically the same for both the demonstrative adjective and the demonstrative pronoun, the difference lies with the "tildes" or accents.

For instance =

Esta casa es blanca / Ésta es azul (This house is white / this one is blue)

Notice here that for the adjectives, there are no accents on "THIS" (Esta) but for the demonstrative pronoun (Ésta = this) there is one.

Okay!!! NOW next thing!!!

Everything in Spanish, usually, is divided into four annoying little groups = Feminine, Masculine, Feminine/Plural, Masc/Plural

Let us go over the Demonstrative Adjectives =

This/these = este (masc/sing) esta (fem/sing) estos (masc/pl) estas (fem/pl)

That/those = ese (masc/sing) esa (fem/sing) esos (masc/pl) esas (fem/pl)

AND, to make things a little more complicated, the Spanish have a word for "That over there" (XD)

That over there / Those over there = aquel (masc/sing) aquella (fem/sing) aquellos (masc/pl) aquellas (fem/pl)

Examples =

Este carro es mío = This car is mine

Esta habitación es tuya = This bedroom is yours

Estos juguetes están caros! = These toys are expensive

(a little FYI do not confuse the verb "estar" with the demonstrative...)

Estas computadoras son perfectas! = These computers are perfect!

Okay, now that the demonstrative adjectives are out of the way, let's do the DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS!!!!

Well, like I said before the demonstrative adjectives and the demonstrative pronouns are basically spelled the same, except for the "tildes" - accents

This/these = éste (masc/sing) ésta (fem/sing) éstos (masc/pl) éstas (fem/pl)

That/those = ése (masc/sing) ésa (fem/sing) ésos (masc/pl) ésas (fem/pl)

That over there / Those over there = aquél (masc/sing) aquélla (fem/sing) aquéllos (masc/pl) aquéllas (fem/pl)

(The way I remember where to put the accent is that it always goes on the first "e" when it comes to the demonstratives)

Examples =

Éste es mío = This is mine

Ésta es tuya = This is yours

Éstos están caros! = These are expensive

(AGAIN verb "estar" with the demonstrative...)

Éstas son perfectas! = These are perfect!

Hopefully this was of use to you! Let me know if you have questions!!!!

Want to keep practicing?

Visit these lessons on Quizlet:

Demonstrative Pronouns:

https://quizlet.com/_3odio7?x=1jqt&i=12vlx8

Demonstrative Adjectives:

https://quizlet.com/_3odifk?x=1jqt&i=12vlx8

Both:

https://quizlet.com/_3odhwy?x=1jqt&i=12vlx8