Este, Ese, Aquel: This and That in Spanish, the Easy Way

In this lesson

1Touch it, point at it, squint at it
2Matching the noun
3This one, that one
4Esto and eso: when you don't know what it is
5Common mistakes
6Put it together
7Test yourself
8All the forms

Touch it, point at it, squint at it

English has two words: "this" and "that". Spanish has three, and the difference is just distance. Here's the trick we use in class:

	Spanish	The trick
this	este	you can touch it
that	ese	you point at it
that over there	aquel	it's far away, you squint at it

Grab something near you and say este. Point at something across the room: ese. Look out the window at a building down the street: aquel.

Near, not so near, far

Este café es para mí.This coffee is for me.
¿Ese es tu celular?Is that your phone?
Aquel restaurante es muy bueno.That restaurant over there is really good.

Matching the noun

Like the articles in the gender class, these words change for feminine and plural nouns:

	Masculine	Feminine	Masculine plural	Feminine plural
this / these	este	esta	estos	estas
that / those	ese	esa	esos	esas
that / those over there	aquel	aquella	aquellos	aquellas

The masculine is the odd one: este and ese end in -e, but the plural is -os: estos, esos. Never estes.

With feminine and plural nouns

Esta casa es muy bonita.This house is really pretty.
Estos tacos están riquísimos.These tacos are delicious.
Esa camisa es nueva.That shirt is new.
Esas chicas son mis primas.Those girls are my cousins.
Aquellas montañas son altísimas.Those mountains over there are really high.

This one, that one

Once everyone knows what you're talking about, drop the noun. Este alone means "this one", ese means "that one":

Este libro es mío; ese es tuyo.

This is the most useful thing in this lesson when you're traveling: at a market or a taquería, you don't need to know what anything is called. Point and say ese.

Pointing like a local

Quiero ese, por favor.I want that one, please.
¿Cuánto cuesta este?How much is this one?
No, ese no. Este.No, not that one. This one.
¿Cuál quieres, esta o esa?Which one do you want, this one or that one?

The word still matches the thing: a shirt is esta or esa even when you don't say camisa.

Esto and eso: when you don't know what it is

When there's no noun because you don't know what something is, or you're talking about an idea, use esto and eso. They end in -o and never change:

Esto and eso

¿Qué es esto?What's this?
¿Qué es eso?What's that?
Eso es todo.That's all.
Por eso.That's why.
¡Eso!That's it! / Way to go!

You saw ¿Qué es esto? in the question words class. And ¡Eso! is what a Mexican friend shouts when you finally get something right.

✍️ Quick check

0/3

1.___ casa es muy grande. (This house is really big.)
2.¿Qué es ___? (What's that?, pointing at something you don't know)
3.___ tacos están muy ricos. (These tacos are really good.)

Common mistakes

✗Esto libro es mío.
✓Este libro es mío.
With a noun, it's este. Esto never goes before a noun.
✗Este casa es bonita.
✓Esta casa es bonita.
Casa is feminine, so esta.
✗Estes zapatos son nuevos.
✓Estos zapatos son nuevos.
Masculine plural ends in -os.
✗¿Qué es este? (about something you've never seen)
✓¿Qué es esto?
No noun, unknown thing: esto.
✗La comida esta muy rica.
✓La comida está muy rica.
"Is" is está, with the accent and the stress at the end.

Put it together

Here's the sentence from class:

Este libro es mío; ese es tuyo.

Este libro: you can touch it, and libro is masculine
ese: "that one", the noun drops because we already know it's a book
mío and tuyo mean "mine" and "yours". That's next class: whose is what.

And now at a taquería, where pointing is half the conversation:

Buenas tardes. ¿Qué es esto?
Good afternoon. What's this?
Es pastor. Y eso es suadero.
It's pastor. And that's suadero.
Quiero dos de este y uno de ese, por favor.
I want two of this one and one of that one, please.
¿Con todo?
With everything?
Sí, con todo. ¿Y esas salsas? ¿Pican?
Yes, with everything. And those salsas? Are they spicy?
Esta verde no pica. Esa roja pica mucho.
This green one isn't spicy. That red one is really spicy.
Entonces la verde, por favor.
The green one, then, please.

Con todo is how Mexicans order tacos with onion and cilantro on top. Pastor and suadero are two kinds of taco meat.

Now make it yours: look around the room and describe five things with este, ese and aquel: Esta taza es azul. Ese libro es de mi hermano.

Test yourself

✍️ Six quick questions

0/6

1.You touch your coffee: ___ café está frío.
2.You point at a jacket in a store: ¿Cuánto cuesta ___?
3.___ chicas son mis amigas. (Those girls are my friends.)
4.Your friend makes a great joke. You say…
5.Which one means "is"?
6.Este libro es mío; ese es tuyo. What does ese mean here?

All the forms

Este, ese, aquel: the full chart

	Masculine	Feminine	Masc. plural	Fem. plural	No noun / unknown
this (touch it)	este	esta	estos	estas	esto
that (point at it)	ese	esa	esos	esas	eso
that over there (far)	aquel	aquella	aquellos	aquellas	aquello

And the places that go with them: aquí (here), ahí (there), allá (over there).

You may see old textbooks write éste or ése with an accent when there's no noun. Since 2010 the Real Academia says you don't need it: este and ese either way.

Este, ese, aquel · this and that in SpanishThe Pointer