Demonstrative Determiners
The Spanish has three kinds of demonstrative, whose use depends on the distance between the speaker and the described thing/person.
| Demonstratives | Near | Middle | Far |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine singular | este | ese | aquel |
| Masculine plural | estos | esos | aquellos |
| Femenine singular | esta | esa | aquella |
| Femenine plural | estas | esas | aquellas |
English also used to have a three-way system: "this hill (here)", "that hill (there)" or "yon hill (yonder)" — in Spanish, "esta colina", "esa colina", "aquella colina". Standard English lost the third level, so that the "that, there" series covers the ground of "yon, yonder".
Este usually refers to something near the speaker (the first person). Ese usually refers to something nearer the hearer (the second person). Aquel usually refers to something away from both the speaker and the hearer.
The demonstrative determiners can also be used as pronouns, with the addition of the neutral singular forms esto, eso, aquello.
A similar three-way system of demonstratives is found in Portuguese, as well as in Slavic languages, Japanese and Turkish.
Read more about this topic: Spanish Determiners