Demonstrative adjectives refer to a noun and and answer the question which?. They are the equivalent to “this, that, these, & those” in English. In Spanish they must agree in gender and number with the noun they modify.
There are 3 categories of demonstrative adjectives in Spanish that relate to the distance of the noun being spoken about from the speaker.
1. Noun is near the speaker = este & esta
2. Noun is near the person being spoken to = ese & esa
3. Noun is far from both the speaker and the person being spoken to = aquel & aquella
| masculine singular | feminine singular | masculine plural | feminine plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| este | esta | estos | estas | |
| ese | esa | esos | esas | |
| aquel | aquella | aquellos | aquellas |
Examples:
| este libro ese libro aquel libro | this book (by the speaker) that book (over there) that book (in a place far from the speaker and the person being spoken to) |