7/27/2019 Spanish Demonstratives Notes

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THIS, THAT, THESE, THOSE(Demonstrative Adjectives/Pronouns)

1. Este (this)Used to point out nouns which are close the speaker as well as the person to whom he or she is speaking.It is normally within reaching distance.Heres a rhyme to help you remember: THIS and THESE have the Ts

THIS THESE

este* estosesta estas

_____________burritos son fantsticos! (These burritos are fantastic!)

______________restaurante es mi favorito. (This restaurant is my favorite.)

______________casa es grandsima. (This house is enormous.)

______________pizzas son ricas. (These pizzas are delicious.)

2. Ese (that)Used to point out nouns which are further from the speaker and not easily within reach.

The noun may be close to the listener, but not the speaker.

THAT THOSE

ese* esosesa esas

Trame________________camisa, por favor. (Bring me that shirt, please.)

_________________monos son cmicos. (Those monkeys are funny.)

_______________botas son mis favoritas. (Those boots are my favorites.)

Quiero_______________helado blanco. (I want that white ice cream.)

3. Aquel (that/those over there)Used to point out nouns which are far away from both the speaker and the listener, but within visual distance.Can also be used to refer to items not in the vicinity.

THAT THOSE

(way over there) (way over there)

aquel* aquellos

aquella aquellas

________________oso es peligroso. (That bear over there is dangerous.)

________________plantas son gigantes. (Those plants are huge.)

________________chica es muy guapa. (That girl over there is really pretty.)

_______________edificios son los ms viejos de la ciudad. (Those buildings over there

are the oldest in the city.)

*Note that the masculine singular forms don't end in -o.

7/27/2019 Spanish Demonstratives Notes

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Each demonstrative pronoun also has a neuter form. They do not change for number or gender,

and they are used to refer to abstract ideas, or to an unknown object.

esto = this This is important! = Esto es importante!

eso = that Thats it! = Eso es!

aquello = that way over there Those were the good days = Aquellos eran los tiempos bue

Thatis a good idea. ____________es una buena idea.

What is this? ___________Qu es_________

?

All those over thereare free? Todo___________es gratis?

In many cases, "that" doesn't have to be translated at all, especially where "it" could be used as

well. For example, "that's impossible" could usually be translated as either "eso es imposible" or

merely "es imposible."

Accent or no?

Note:The rule used to be that the demonstrative pronouns (the ones used by themselves) always carried a written accent, while the

demonstrative adjectives did not. But in 1959 theReal Academia Espaola,the institution responsible for regulating the Spanish

language, revised its spelling rules. Thus, in practice, the written accent is not required. However, it should also be noted that not

everyone has jumped on the RAE bandwagon, -- including Madrid's daily newspaper El Pasas well as the majority of Spanish

grammars that you are likely to encounter. So, here is the old rule you will likely see in practice:

When you use them ALONE, they need an accent.

That one This one These ones Those ones

se ste stos sos

sa sta stas sas

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