Understanding Demonstrative Adjectives in Spanish

What makes a demonstrative adjective different from a regular adjective is that it indicates precisely which person, place or thing is being referred to. For example, instead of describing the table's glassiness, we can refer to it with reference to the person being spoken to. We can say, "this table", which is near us both, "that table", which is only near you, but not me, or "that table over there", which is far from both of us.

Masculine Singular: este (this)

Feminine Singular: esta (this)

Masculine Plural: estos (these)

Feminine Plural: estas (these)

Masculine Singular: ese (that)

Feminine Singular: esa (that)

Masculine Plural: esos (those)

Feminine Plural: esas (those)

Masculine Singular: aquel (that)

Feminine Singular: aquella (that)

Masculine Plural: aquellos (those)

Feminine Plural: aquellas (those)

• Hace dos años que vivo en este departamento. (I've lived in this apartment for two years.)

• Ese tipo nunca va a cambiar la idea. (That guy is never going to change his mind.)

• En aquella época, las cosas eran diferentes. (Back then, things were different.)

• Me encontraré contigo en aquel café donde te vi la semana pasada. (I'll meet you in that cafe where I saw you last week.)

• En este momento, no me siento bien. (At this moment, I don't feel well.)

Make sure you don't confuse demonstrative "adjectives" with demonstrative "pronouns". For example, "no puedo aceptar ESO" (I can't accept THAT). Here, the word "eso" is actually taking the place of what I can't accept so it is a pronoun. So, if it were "un regalo" (a gift), "no puedo aceptar eso" would be the pronominal form of "no puedo aceptar el regalo".