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Los adjetivos demostrativos Notes #16

What is a demonstrative adjective in English?

Demonstrative adjectives in English are simply the


words:
THIS THESE

THAT THOSE
In English we use on of the demonstrative adjectives based on:
1. How close or far the item is from us

2. How many items we are talking about

The sweater Look at those boots.


(singular) is close
to the speaker.
The boots (plural) are
This sweater farther away from the
is on sale. speaker.
Demonstrative adjectives

In Spanish, as in English, demonstrative


adjectives are words that “demonstrate” or “point out”
nouns. Demonstrative adjectives precede the nouns
they modify and, like other Spanish adjectives you have
studied, agree with them in gender and number.
Observe these, then study the following chart.

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 There are three sets of demonstrative
adjectives. To determine which one to use,
you must establish the relationship between
the speaker and the noun(s) being pointed out.

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 The demonstrative adjectives este, esta,
estos, and estas are used to point out nouns
that are close to the speaker and the listener.

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 The demonstrative adjectives ese, esa, esos,
and esas are used to point out nouns that are
not close in space and time to the speaker.
They may, however, be close to the listener.

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 The demonstrative adjectives aquel, aquella,
aquellos, and aquellas are used to point out
nouns that are far away from the speaker and
the listener.

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Demonstrative pronouns
 Demonstrative pronouns are identical to their
corresponding demonstrative adjectives, with
the exception that they carry an accent mark
on the stressed vowel.

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 ¡Atención! Like demonstrative adjectives,
demonstrative pronouns agree in gender and
number with the corresponding noun.

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 There are three neuter demonstrative
pronouns: esto, eso, and aquello. These
forms refer to unidentified or unspecified
nouns, situations, ideas, and concepts. They
do not change in gender or number and
never carry an accent mark.

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Provide the correct form of the demonstrative adjective for
these nouns. The first item has been done for you.

1. esta falda
la falda / este ____________ 5. los periodistas / ese ____________
2. los estudiantes / este ____________ 6. el chico / aquel ____________
3. los países / aquel ____________ 7. las sandalias / este ____________
4. la ventana / ese ____________ 8. las chicas / aquel ____________

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Los adjetivos demostrativos
In Spanish, demonstrative adjectives have 3 basic forms:

THIS / THESE THAT / THOSE THAT / THOSE


(close to speaker) (not near speaker, but (farther from both
possibly near listener) listener and speaker)

este ese aquel

This and These have got T’s

That and Those no T goes

And an A for far away

OJO: Note that there are TWO ways to say THAT/THOSE depending on
the distance of the object from the speaker.
Los adjetivos demostrativos

Like all adjectives, demonstrative adjectives must match the noun they
accompany in two ways:
1. Masculine / Feminine

2. Singular / Plural
Which means that each of our 3 basic demonstratives have four variations!

THIS / THESE THAT / THOSE THAT / THOSE


(farther away)

este ese aquel


esta esa aquella
estos esos aquellos
estas esas aquellas

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