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Humanities LibreTexts

6.2: Demonstratives

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Objetivos
  • Identify the different forms of demonstrative adjectives
  • Use demonstrative adjectives to indicate proximity

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Demonstratives are used to demonstrate how close something is to the speaker.

They are adjectives when they directly accompany a noun.

Me gusta esta blusa. (This blouse)

They are pronouns when they stand alone (even when they stand alone, they still refer to the noun and must match its gender/number).

¿Qué blusa te gusta más? - - - Esta. (This one)

The English equivalents are:

This and These (for things within the speaker’s reach)

-and-

That and Those (for things outside of the speaker’s reach)

In Spanish, we have a third group for things that are quite far away. We’ll call them:

That and Those way over there

In English, you see that we have a singular and a plural version of each, which is true for Spanish as well. However, we also have to account for gender.

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Esa curva es muy peligrosa. Hay que tener cuidado.
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Esta piedra de playa tiene forma de corazón

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Other notes:

When used as pronouns, some people will put an accent over the first “e.” However, it is no longer required.

We have a neutral “this” and a neutral “that” when we are referring to something abstract (meaning, we are not referring to any specific noun in particular).

Esto:

  • ¿Qué es esto?
  • Esto es increíble.

Eso:

  • ¡Eso es ridículo!
  • ¿Qué es eso?

Aquello: This is the neutral “that way over there.” It is much less commonly used than the others.

  • Aquello es mío.

Actividad 1

Los adjetivos demostrativos. Fill in the blanks and answer the questions to build your foundation with the demonstrative adjectives.

¿Cómo se dice this? Masculino ___________ Femenino ___________

___________ casa ___________ chico ___________ marcador ___________ clase

¿Cómo se dice these? Masculino ___________ Femenino ___________

___________ perros ___________ plumas ___________ niñas ___________ estudiantes

What is the proximity to the speaker for this and these? ___________

¿Cómo se dice that? Masculino ___________ Femenino ___________

___________ carro ___________ reloj ___________ mujer ___________ farmacia

¿Cómo se dice those? Masculino ___________ Femenino ___________

___________ niños ___________ manzanas ___________ clases _ __________ gatos

What is the proximity to the speaker for that and those? ___________

¿Cómo se dice that way over there? Masculino ___________ Femenino ___________

___________ hombre ___________ casa ___________ árbol ___________ mujer

¿Cómo se dice those way over there? Masculino ___________ Femenino ___________

___________ árboles ___________ casas ___________ montañas ___________ carros

What is the proximity to the speaker for that and those way over there?________

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Actividad 2

Los pronombres demostrativos. Fill in the blanks and answer the questions to build your foundation with the demonstrative adjectives.

1. ¿Qué libro lees?

--- ____________. Se llama La casa de los espíritus. (this one)

2. ¿Cuál es tu gorra favorita?

--- ____________. La llevo todos los días. (this one)

3. ¿Qué zapatos te gustan más?

--- ____________. Voy a comprarlos. (these ones)

4. ¿Cuáles son las galletas que te gustan más? --- ____________. Son Marías. (these ones)

5. ¿Cuál es tu carro?

​​​​​​​ --- ____________; el rojo. (that one)

6. ¿Qué blusa te gusta más?

​​​​​​​ --- ____________. Me gusta el color. (that one)

7. ¿Qué caramelos buscas?

--- ____________. Son mis favoritos. (those ones)

8. ¿Cuáles son tus pinturas favoritas?

--- ____________. Me encantan (I love) las pinturas modernas (those ones way over there)

Actividad 3

Tus preferencias. First, fill in the blanks using the demonstrative adjectives for “this/these” “that/those” and “that/those way over there.” To give perspective, the items that are farthest away are the smallest photos. Then, discuss the objects/animals with a partner to say which one you like using a demonstrative pronoun.

Model: Estudiante 1: Me gustan estos zapatos (a la izquierda).
Estudiante 2: A mí, no me gustan estos zapatos. Me encantan más estos zapatos rojos.

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________ zapatos casuale
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________ zapatos de tacón
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________ zapatos de vestido (furthest)
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________ perro
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________ perro
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________ perro

Actividad 4

Las fotografías. Fill in the blanks using demonstrative adjectives to complete the descriptions of the photos below. Pay attention to foreground, middle ground, and background. Then translate the sentences.

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Contributors and Attributions

CC licensed content, Shared previously

This page titled 6.2: Demonstratives is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Erin Huebener (Independent) via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

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