Grammar: How to say “this” and “that” in Spanish

Este, ese y aquel

The words “this” and “that” are called “demonstrative pronouns” (pronombres demostrativos). They are used to express the distance between the speaker and the objects around them. In English, there are two pronouns: “this” (something close) and “that” (something far away). In Spanish, there are three of them:

este: “this” – something so close that you can actually touch it or that you are holding in your hands
ese: “this” – you are not holding it in your hands, but it’s still very close, and you can point at it with your finger
aquel: “that” – something that you see from far away

The endings of these pronouns depend on the gender and number of the noun they refer to:

este (you can touch it):	ese (you can point at it):	aquel (you see from far away):
este libro – this book	ese coche – this car	aquel perro – that dog
esta casa – this house	esa mesa – this table	aquella tienda – that shop
estos libros – these books	esos coches – these cars	aquellos perros – those dogs
estas casas – these houses	esas mesas – these tables	aquellas tiendas – those shops

Attention!
Apart from the forms mentioned above, there are neuter forms: esto, eso and aquello. They are always used independently (without any noun):

¿Vas a comer esto? – Are you going to eat this?
Olvídate de aquello. – Forget about that.

We recommend you memorize these pronouns together with these adverbs that can help you measure the distance between the object and the speaker:

aquí –> este:
¿Qué libro quieres? Este de aquí. – Which book do you want? This one here (which is so close that I can take it in my hands).
ahí –> ese:
¿Qué libro quieres? Ese de ahí. – Which book do you want? This one over here (which is here on a shelf quite close to me).
allí –> aquel:
¿Qué libro quieres? Aquel de allí. – Which book do you want? That one over there (I can see it from far away).