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LOS DEMOSTRATIVOS DEMONSTRATIVE ADJECTIVES & PRONOUNS |
There are two types of demonstratives: adjectives and pronouns.
Adjectives --> describe a noun
Pronouns --> take the place of a noun
| Example: | This book is mine (adjective) |
| This is mine (pronoun) |
In English there are 2 demonstrative adjectives/pronouns: THIS and THAT with their plural forms THESE and THOSE. Spanish has got 3 words. We say "this", "that" but there is another word which means something like "that one over there". This form is used when the object is more than a short distance away like the other side of the room. Below are the 3 forms with their corresponding plural forms:
|
SINGULAR |
PLURAL |
|
|
very close |
ESTE , ESTA |
ESTOS , ESTAS |
|
not so close |
ESE , ESA |
ESOS , ESAS |
|
far |
AQUEL , AQUELLA |
AQUELLOS , AQUELLAS |
As you can observe, all forms have masculine and feminine endings as well as singular and plural.
| Este libro | Esta mesa | Estos libros | Estas mesas |
| Ese libro | Esa mesa | Esos libros | Esas mesas |
| Aquel libro | Aquella mesa | Aquellos libros | Aquellas mesas |
The demonstrative pronouns are the same as the adjectives except that they have a written accent: ÉSTE-A-OS-AS, ÉSE-A-OS-AS, AQUÉL-A-OS-AS
Each demonstrative pronoun also has a neuter form. They do not change for masculine/feminine or singular/plural, they do not have an accent and they are used to refer to abstract ideas or to an unknown object.
ESTO (this matter, this thing)
ESO (that matter, that thing)
AQUELLO (that matter/thing over there)
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