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Spanish grammar

Este, ese, aquel: this and that in Spanish

Spanish points at things from three distances: este (this, near me), ese (that, near you or a little way off) and aquel (that over there, far from both of us). Each one agrees with its noun in gender and number, so este becomes esta, estos or estas. The course drills the two everyday distances, este and ese, and that is what the sections below cover; aquel follows exactly the same pattern.

In short

  • este/esta = this (near the speaker), ese/esa = that (near the listener or a bit away), aquel/aquella = that over there (far from both).
  • Gender follows the noun: este libro, esta silla; ese zapato, esa camisa.
  • Plurals: estos, estas, esos, esas, aquellos, aquellas.
  • esta (this) has no accent; está (is) does: esta mesa está aquí.
  • Adjective and verb agree too: esta camisa es cara, estos zapatos son baratos.

Este, esta — and the accent that changes everything

«este» and «esta» both mean this. The noun picks: an el-word takes «este libro», a la-word takes «esta silla». Now the trap: «está», with the accent, is the verb, it IS somewhere: «está en la mesa». «esta», with no accent, means this. They sound different too: es-TA for «está», ES-ta for «esta». Both can land in one line: «esta mesa está aquí», this table is here.

  • Este libro es nuevo

    this book is new

  • Esta silla es nueva

    this chair is new

  • Este lápiz es pequeño

    this pencil is small

  • Esta casa es grande

    this house is big

  • La llave está allí

    the key is over there

  • Esta mesa está aquí

    This table is here

  • Quiero este café y esta sopa

    I want this coffee and this soup

Four words you already knew

Line them up. «este zapato» → «estos zapatos». «esta camisa» → «estas camisas». «ese zapato» → «esos zapatos». «esa falda» → «esas faldas». You are not learning four words; you are making one decision twice. First the gender — el-word or la-word. Then the number — one, or more than one. Two spellings are worth a second look. «este» grows an o: «estos», because -os is the ending el-words take in the plural, the same one you already say in «los libros». And the little verb comes along: one thing «es», more than one «son» — «la camisa es nueva», but «estas camisas son nuevas».

  • Estos zapatos

    these shoes

  • Estas camisas

    these shirts

  • Estas camisas son nuevas

    these shirts are new

  • Esos zapatos son nuevos

    those shoes are new

  • Estos zapatos son nuevos

    these shoes are new

  • Esas camisas son nuevas

    those shirts are new

  • Voy a la tienda

    I'm going to the store

  • Esas faldas son bonitas

    Those skirts are pretty

  • Estos zapatos y esas faldas

    these shoes and those skirts

One decision, said three times

Look at how many words moved together in «esta camisa es cara». «esta» is a la-word. «camisa» is a la-word. «cara» is a la-word. You made ONE decision — what kind of noun this is — and then three words spelled it out. Plural is the same story: «estos zapatos son baratos», all three carrying the el-word plural, with «son» doing the same work «es» does in the singular. The shape you will see in a dictionary is always the el-word singular, «caro» and «barato»; everything else is that shape agreeing with whatever it is describing.

  • Esta camisa es cara

    this shirt is expensive

  • Ese zapato es barato

    that shoe is cheap

  • Esta falda es cara

    this skirt is expensive

  • Quiero comprar esa falda

    I want to buy that skirt

  • Esos zapatos son baratos

    those shoes are cheap

  • La cuenta por favor

    the check, please

  • Quiero comprar esta camisa

    I want to buy this shirt

  • Quiero comprar estas camisas baratas

    I want to buy these cheap shirts

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