Unit 9

UNIT NINE
Demonstratives
Demonstratives are words used to point out or ‘demonstrate/ which noun the speaker is
referring to, i.e. ‘this’ or ‘that’, ‘these’ or ‘those’.
In Spanish, they must agree in number and gender with the noun to which they refer, so the
words for ‘this’ and ‘these’ are as follows:
este (masculine singular) este coche this car

esta (feminine singular) esta casa this house
estos (masculine plural) estos chicos these boys
estas (feminine plural) estas ventanas these windows
este/esta/estos/estas are used to refer to things close to the speaker in either time or space:
e.g. Me gusta este libro.

I like this book. (the one that is here, near me/in my hand)
Estos dias tan felices.

These happy days. (the days that we are enjoying now)
There are two sets of words for ‘that’ and ‘those’ in Spanish, depending on the degree of
proximity in time or space of the object referred to:
ese/aquel (masculine singular) ese/aquel dia that day

esa/aquella (feminine singular) esa/aquella mujer that woman
esos/aquellos (masculine plural) esos/aquellos niños those children
esas/aquellas (feminine plural) esas/aquellas casas those houses
ese/esa/esos/esas are used to refer to things slightly further removed than este/esta, etc. or
close to the person being spoken to:
e.g. Dame ese periodico.

Give me that newspaper. (the one near you)
Recuerdas esa semana que pasamos en Mallorca?

Do you remember that week we spent in Mallorca? (the one familiar to
both of us)
aquel/aquella/aquellos/aquellas refer to things that are far away from both the speaker and
the person being spoken to, either in time or space:
Me gusta aquella casa.

I like that house. (the one over there, not near either of us)
Aquel verano hizo mucho calor.

It was very hot that summer. (a long time ago)
The difference between ese and aquel is not always clear-cut, and it is difficult to establish hard
and fast rules for every use. Careful observation of how native speakers use these two forms
will help you to understand the subtle distinctions.
When these forms are immediately followed by a noun, they are demonstrative adjectives
because they give more information about the noun to which they refer. They can, however, be
used on their own, in which case they are demonstrative pronouns, as they are taking the place
of the noun. When used as pronouns they take a stress mark to distinguish them from the
demonstrative adjective form.
éste, ésta, éstos, estas

ése, ésa, ésos, ésas
aquel, aquélla, aquéllos, aquéllas
e.g. Este libro me gusta mucho, pero aquél no me gusta nada.

I like this book very much, but I don’t like that one at all.
Estas casas son bonitas, pero aquéllas son feisimas.

These houses are pretty, but those are very ugly.
In Modern Spanish, however, the stress mark is not essential and is frequently omitted.
Cultural Brief
La Republica de Pamana
Panama es un pais centroamericano que esta entre el oceano Atlantico (mar del Caribe) y el
oceano Pacifico. A sus habitantes se les llama panameños. Tiene fronteras con Costa Rica (al
norte) y Columbia (al sur). No es un pais muy grande ni en terminos de extension (alrededor de
60.000 km2) ni de población (unos 3 millones de habitantes) pero tiene gran importancia
geografica debido al Canal de Panama, que une el oceano Pacifico con el mar del Caribe;
aunque construido por los EEUU entre 1904 y 1914, pertenece totalmente a Panama desde
1999 Panama es un pais culturalmente muy rico y lleno de contrastes. Geograficamente esta
dividido en 9 provincias (Bocas del Toro, Chiriqui, Cocle, Colon, Darien, Herrera, Los Santos,
Panam`a y Veraguas) y una comarca ( San Blas). Su capital es la ciudad de Panama.
Vocabularies
acuarela (f) water-colour (painting) ni…ni… neither… nor…

candado (m) lock oleo (m) oil (painting)
comarca (f) region paisaje (m) landscape
construir to build pera (f) pear
decorar to decorate pertenecer to belong
EEUU USA plato (m) plate
en terminos de in terms of poblacion (f) population
frontera (f) border taza (f) cup
grabado (m) etching vaso (m) glass
habitante (m) inhabitant

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UNIT NINE

este (masculine singular) este coche this car

e.g. Me gusta este libro.

Estos dias tan felices.

ese/aquel (masculine singular) ese/aquel dia that day

e.g. Dame ese periodico.

Recuerdas esa semana que pasamos en Mallorca?

Me gusta aquella casa.

Aquel verano hizo mucho calor.

éste, ésta, éstos, estas

e.g. Este libro me gusta mucho, pero aquél no me gusta nada.

Estas casas son bonitas, pero aquéllas son feisimas.

acuarela (f) water-colour (painting) ni…ni… neither… nor…

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