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Spanish grammar Part of Chapter 30

CEFR A2-B1

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Test yourself (20 questions)

Spanish Demonstrative Pronouns: That One, éste and esto

By Michael McGettrick and Sergio Linares-HernandesUpdated 12 October 2026

A demonstrative pronoun is , or on its own, standing for a noun. Spanish has no word for "one" here:

Quick check

Three quick questions on what you have just read. The full practice is further down.

Spot the mistake

0/3

Each sentence has one wrong word. Tap it.

  • ¿ ? . - Which book do you want? This one.
  • ¿ ? - What is this?

The pronouns at a glance

masculinefeminineneuternear menear youfar from bothWhat do the colours mean?

The pronouns are the same words that go before a noun. Pick the row by distance, then the column by the gender and number of the noun you mean:

DistanceMasc.Fem.Neuter
near me, one
near me, morenone
near you, one
near you, morenone
far, one
far, morenone

Blue is masculine, rose feminine, green the neuter. The pronoun copies the noun it stands for:

A speaker stands on the grass pointing at a cup right beside them; a listener a little way off has a second cup by their feet; a third, tiny cup sits far away on top of a green hill.

Which cup? Esta (this one) is by me, esa (that one) by you, aquella (that one over there) on the hill. Yo is me, the speaker; tú is you, the listener. Taza is feminine, so all three are feminine.

  • , . - I don't like that shirt, I prefer that one over there.

This one, that one: no word for one

near menear youfar from bothWhat do the colours mean?

English adds "one"; Spanish drops it with the noun:

MeansSpanishEnglish
this one .I want this one.
that one, by you .I prefer that one.
that one over there .I like that one over there.
these ones .I'll take these.

The distances work for time too: is far back. . - Those days were happy.

The one that is not a demonstrative at all. It is or : . (the one on the corner is my house). More on the advanced relative pronouns page.

Esto, eso, aquello: the neuter

neuter (no noun)What do the colours mean?

, and stand for no noun at all: an object you cannot name, something just said, a whole situation. They never change for gender or number:

Points atSpanishEnglish
an unknown thing¿ ?What is this?
what was said .That isn't true.
a situation .This is a disaster.
the far past .That was a mistake.
a topic .I don't want to talk about that.
a reason .That's why I didn't go.

The neuter never goes before a noun. Before a noun it is always , or : , never " ".

Mistakes English speakers make

masculinefeminineneuterWhat do the colours mean?
WrongRightWhy
¿ ?¿ ?an unnamed thing: neuter
no word for one
never goes before a noun
is masculine
() is feminine

What to do next

  1. Point at three things in the room and name them: , , .
  2. Do the sort and market drills below.
  3. Then the demonstrative adjectives page for , and .

Practise: test yourself

Sort into groups

0/8

Which form of 'this one' replaces each noun?

Tap a word, then the group it belongs in.

Complete the story

0/4

Choose the demonstrative for each gap.

At the market

¿Qué tomates quiere? , los de aquí, por favor. ¿Y qué queso? de ahí, al lado de usted. No, perdón, de allí, al fondo. ¿Algo más? No, es todo, gracias.

Gap 1 of 4

Spot the mistake

0/4

Each sentence has one wrong word. Tap it.

Pick the right one

0/4

Choose the form that completes the sentence.

  1. no es verdad. (what you just said)

  2. No me gusta esta mesa; prefiero de allí.

  3. ¿Qué coche quieres? , el que está aquí.

  4. ¿Te gusta esta foto? Sí, pero prefiero .

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Frequently asked questions

How do you say 'this one' and 'that one' in Spanish?
Use the demonstrative on its own, agreeing with the noun you mean, and drop the one: ¿ ? (which book do you want? This one). That one is or for something by the listener, or for something far from both of you.
What is the difference between , and ?
Distance. is near the speaker, near the listener or at a middle distance, far from both, in space or in time. English has only this and that, so learners tend to forget : (I prefer that one over there).
When do I use , and ?
When there is no noun to agree with: an object you cannot name (¿ ?, what is this?), something just said ( , that isn't true) or a whole situation ( , that was a mistake). They never change for gender or number and never go before a noun.
Does the demonstrative pronoun still take an accent?
Not as a rule. Since its 2010 Ortografía, the RAE says , and need no written accent even as pronouns: . Older books write , , ; that is the old convention, not a typo. The neuter , , never had one.
How do you say 'the one that' in Spanish?
Not with a demonstrative: use or . means the one you bought; means the one on the corner.