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Demonstratives

How demonstrative pronouns and adjectives work in Spanish, English and Chinese.

Compare languages

English has two-way distinction (this/that). Spanish has three-way (este/ese/aquel) based on proximity to speaker and listener. Chinese has two-way (这zhè/那nà) with optional measure words.

Overview

Demonstratives point to things in space or discourse: this book, that house.

Spanish: Three-way distinction — near speaker (este), near listener (ese), far from both (aquel). Full agreement in gender and number.
English: Two-way distinction — near (this/these), far (that/those). No agreement.
Chinese: Two-way distinction — near (这zhè), far (那nà). Usually requires a classifier or measure word. Uses 些xiē for plural.

Spanish

Three-way spatial distinction

	Near speaker	Near listener	Far from both
Masc singular	este libro	ese libro	aquel libro
Fem singular	esta mesa	esa mesa	aquella mesa
Masc plural	estos libros	esos libros	aquellos libros
Fem plural	estas mesas	esas mesas	aquellas mesas

Memory aid: Este = estoy aquí (I’m here). Ese = estás ahí (you are there). Aquel = allí (over there).

Agreement

Demonstratives agree in gender and number with the noun:

me gusta este coche (I like this car — masc sing)
prefiero esta casa (I prefer this house — fem sing)
quiero estos zapatos (I want these shoes — masc pl)
compro estas flores (I buy these flowers — fem pl)

Neuter forms (standalone)

When referring to abstract concepts or unnamed things, use neuter forms:

Esto es importante. (This is important.)
Eso no me gusta. (I don’t like that.)
Aquello fue increíble. (That [over there/thing in the past] was incredible.)

Note: Neuter forms never modify a noun. They stand alone.

Demonstrative pronouns

Spanish distinguishes adjective vs pronoun forms:

Adjective: Este libro es mío. (This book is mine.)
Pronoun: Este es mío. (This one is mine.)

Historically, pronouns took an accent (éste, ése, aquél), but the Real Academia Española no longer requires it.

English

Two-way distinction

	Singular	Plural
Near speaker	this	these
Far from speaker	that	those

No agreement

English demonstratives are invariable:

this book / these books
that car / those cars

As adjectives and pronouns

English uses the same forms as both adjective and pronoun:

Adjective: This car is fast.
Pronoun: This is fast.

That as relative

English uses that as a relative pronoun, which Spanish and Chinese do not:

The book that I read. (Spanish: El libro que leí.)

This/that in discourse

Demonstratives can refer back or forward in discourse:

I didn’t understand that. (referring to previous statement)
This is what I mean… (introducing upcoming explanation)

Chinese

Two-way distinction with classifiers

	Singular	Plural
Near	这zhè + classifier	这zhè些xiē
Far	那nà + classifier	那nà些xiē

Examples:

这zhè本běn书shū (this [CL] book)
那nà辆liàng车chē (that [CL] car)
这zhè些xiē人rén (these people)
那nà些xiē猫māo (those cats)

Without classifiers

For general or abstract reference, 这zhè/那nà can stand alone:

这zhè很hěn好hǎo。(This is good.)
那nà怎zěn么me办bàn？(What about that? / What to do then?)

这zhè儿ér / 那nà里lǐ for location

Chinese uses 这zhè儿ér/这zhè里lǐ (here) and 那nà儿ér/那nà里lǐ (there):

这zhè儿ér / 这zhè里lǐ (here)
那nà儿ér / 那nà里lǐ (there)
我wǒ在zài这zhè儿ér。(I’m here.)
他tā在zài那nà里lǐ。(He’s there.)

这zhè/那nà as discourse markers

Like English, 这zhè/那nà refer to discourse:

这zhè就jiù是shì我wǒ想xiǎng说shuō的de。(This is what I wanted to say.)
那nà怎zěn么me办bàn？(Then what? / What about that?)

Comparison at a glance

Feature	Spanish	English	Chinese
Distinction	3-way (speaker/listener/far)	2-way (near/far)	2-way (near/far)
Agreement	Gender + number	None	None
Plural marker	-os / -as	these / those	些xiē
Standalone neuter	esto / eso / aquello	this / that	这zhè / 那nà
Requires classifier	No	No	Yes (with nouns)
Location forms	aquí / ahí / allí	here / there	这zhè儿ér / 那nà儿ér

Examples

In Context

Spanish	English	Chinese
Este libro es interesante.	This book is interesting.	这zhè本běn书shū很hěn有yǒu意yì思sī。
No me gusta eso.	I don’t like that.	我wǒ不bù喜xǐ欢huān那nà个gè。
Aquellos coches son rápidos. (far away)	Those cars are fast.	那nà些xiē车chē很hěn快kuài。

Common mistakes

English speakers learning Spanish: Using only este/ese: ese for “that” regardless of distance → aquel for far away
English speakers learning Spanish: Forgetting agreement: este mesa → esta mesa
English speakers learning Chinese: Omitting classifier: 这zhè书shū → 这zhè本běn书shū
Spanish speakers learning English: Using “this” for both este and ese when pointing at something near the listener → use that

Articles: How definiteness interacts with demonstrative reference
Classifiers: How Chinese demonstratives require measure words
Pronouns: How demonstrative pronouns replace noun phrases
Adjectives: How demonstratives function as determiners

Examples

This (near speaker)

este (masc) / esta (fem)

That (near listener)

ese (masc) / esa (fem)

That over there (far from both)

aquel (masc) / aquella (fem)

Agreement

Yes (gender + number)

These (plural near)

estos / estas

Those (plural far)

esos / esas / aquellos / aquellas

Standalone pronoun

esto / eso / aquello (neuter)

Examples

This (near speaker)

this

That (near listener)

that

That over there (far from both)

that (over there)

Agreement

These (plural near)

these

Those (plural far)

those

Standalone pronoun

this / that

Examples

This (near speaker)

这zhè (+ classifier)

That (near listener)

那nà (+ classifier)

That over there (far from both)

那nà (+ distal adverb)

Agreement

These (plural near)

这zhè些xiē

Those (plural far)

那nà些xiē

Standalone pronoun

这zhè / 那nà (+ classifier + 的de)

Comparison at a glance

Grammar concepts	Spanish	English	Chinese
This (near speaker)	este (masc) / esta (fem)	this	这zhè (+ classifier)
That (near listener)	ese (masc) / esa (fem)	that	那nà (+ classifier)
That over there (far from both)	aquel (masc) / aquella (fem)	that (over there)	那nà (+ distal adverb)
Agreement	Yes (gender + number)	No	No
These (plural near)	estos / estas	these	这zhè些xiē
Those (plural far)	esos / esas / aquellos / aquellas	those	那nà些xiē
Standalone pronoun	esto / eso / aquello (neuter)	this / that	这zhè / 那nà (+ classifier + 的de)

Side-by-side comparison

Grammar concepts	Spanish	English	Chinese
This (near speaker)	este (masc) / esta (fem)	this	这zhè (+ classifier)
That (near listener)	ese (masc) / esa (fem)	that	那nà (+ classifier)
That over there (far from both)	aquel (masc) / aquella (fem)	that (over there)	那nà (+ distal adverb)
Agreement	Yes (gender + number)	No	No
These (plural near)	estos / estas	these	这zhè些xiē
Those (plural far)	esos / esas / aquellos / aquellas	those	那nà些xiē
Standalone pronoun	esto / eso / aquello (neuter)	this / that	这zhè / 那nà (+ classifier + 的de)

Examples in context

This (near speaker)

Spanish

este (masc) / esta (fem)

English

this

Chinese

这zhè (+ classifier)

That (near listener)

Spanish

ese (masc) / esa (fem)

English

that

Chinese

那nà (+ classifier)

That over there (far from both)

Spanish

aquel (masc) / aquella (fem)

English

that (over there)

Chinese

那nà (+ distal adverb)

Agreement

Spanish

Yes (gender + number)

English

Chinese

These (plural near)

Spanish

estos / estas

English

these

Chinese

这zhè些xiē

Those (plural far)

Spanish

esos / esas / aquellos / aquellas

English

those

Chinese

那nà些xiē

Standalone pronoun

Spanish

esto / eso / aquello (neuter)

English

this / that

Chinese

这zhè / 那nà (+ classifier + 的de)

Key Takeaways

Spanish: Three-way distinction — near speaker (este), near listener (ese), far from both (aquel). Full agreement in gender and number.

English: Two-way distinction — near (this/these), far (that/those). No agreement.

Chinese: Two-way distinction — near (这zhè), far (那nà). Usually requires a classifier or measure word. Uses 些xiē for plural.

Key concepts compared: This (near speaker), That (near listener), That over there (far from both).

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do Spanish demonstratives change meaning when placed after the noun?

Before the noun, Spanish demonstratives are neutral: *este hombre* (this man). After the noun, they are often dismissive or pejorative: *el hombre este* (this man — often rude or informal). English and Chinese have no equivalent positional shift in meaning. A learner of Spanish must understand that *este libro* and *el libro este* are not interchangeable; the latter can sound insulting.

How does Chinese express plurality with demonstratives?

Chinese adds <ruby>些<rt>xiē</rt></ruby> to demonstratives for plural: <ruby>这<rt>zhè</rt></ruby><ruby>些<rt>xiē</rt></ruby> (these), <ruby>那<rt>nà</rt></ruby><ruby>些<rt>xiē</rt></ruby> (those). Unlike English, which has separate forms (*this/these, that/those*), Chinese uses the same demonstrative stem plus a plural marker. Spanish inflects for number and gender: *este/estos/esta/estas*. This means Chinese speakers learning Spanish must track four forms, while English speakers already track two.

Why do English speakers overuse 'that' when Spanish requires 'ese' or 'aquel'?

English 'that' covers both 'near the listener' (*ese*) and 'far from both' (*aquel*). Spanish speakers instinctively know which to use based on spatial relationships in the conversation. English speakers learning Spanish will default to *ese* for everything because 'that' maps to it most naturally, missing the nuance of *aquel* for distant or remembered things: *aquel día* (that day — long ago).

References

Nueva gramática de la lengua española — Real Academia Española / Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española, 2010
The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language — Huddleston & Pullum, Cambridge University Press, 2002
A Comprehensive Grammar of the Modern Chinese Language — Li & Thompson, 1981

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articles pronouns

Last updated: June 4, 2026

Overview

Spanish

Three-way spatial distinction

Agreement

Neuter forms (standalone)

Demonstrative pronouns

English

Two-way distinction

No agreement

As adjectives and pronouns

That as relative

This/that in discourse

Chinese

Two-way distinction with classifiers

Without classifiers

这zhè儿ér / 那nà里lǐ for location

这zhè/那nà as discourse markers

Comparison at a glance

Examples

In Context

Common mistakes

Related topics

Examples

Examples

Examples

Comparison at a glance

Side-by-side comparison

Examples in context

Key Takeaways

Frequently Asked Questions

References