When you drop the noun and let the demonstrative carry the whole noun phrase by itself, you've moved from demonstrative adjective to demonstrative pronoun. Este libro (this book) → este (this one). The forms are identical and the three-way distance system — este (near me), ese (near you), aquel (far from both) — survives the shift. The only orthographic complication is one you can now safely ignore: since the 2010 RAE reform, the pronouns no longer carry a written accent. Éste, ése, aquél belong to the world of pre-2010 textbooks; modern Spanish writes este, ese, aquel in both functions.
This page covers the forms, the distance semantics, the new accent rule, and a handful of everyday constructions where the pronouns surface most often: short responses, post-modified noun phrases (este de Madrid), pointing, and the colloquial pejorative postposition (el chico ese).
The full paradigm
Twelve gendered forms, identical to the adjectives:
| Distance | Masc. sg | Fem. sg | Masc. pl | Fem. pl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Near speaker ("this one") | este | esta | estos | estas |
| Near hearer ("that one") | ese | esa | esos | esas |
| Far from both ("that one over there") | aquel | aquella | aquellos | aquellas |
The forms inflect for the gender and number of the noun they replace, not for any property of the speaker. If you're talking about books (libros, masc. pl.), the pronoun is estos / esos / aquellos. If you're talking about chairs (sillas, fem. pl.), it's estas / esas / aquellas. The pronoun keeps a memory of its absent noun.
A separate set of neuter forms — esto, eso, aquello — exists for cases where there is no specific gendered noun to refer back to. Those are covered on their own page; if you find yourself wanting to point at something whose identity is unknown (¿qué es esto?) or refer to an abstract situation (eso me preocupa), reach for the neuter rather than a gendered pronoun.
The 2010 accent reform
Before 2010, Spanish orthography distinguished demonstrative adjectives from pronouns with an optional written accent on the pronouns: este libro (adjective, no accent) vs éste es el mío (pronoun, accent). The accent was meant to disambiguate, but it was inconsistently applied even by careful writers, and the RAE finally abolished it in the Ortografía de la lengua española of 2010.
The modern rule is simple: demonstrative pronouns carry no written accent, regardless of function.
Este es el libro que te recomendé la semana pasada.
This is the book I recommended to you last week. (no accent on 'este')
De los dos pisos que hemos visto, prefiero ese.
Of the two flats we've seen, I prefer that one.
Aquellos eran otros tiempos, hijo mío.
Those were different times, my boy.
The accent survives only in two very narrow contexts. First, in older texts and pre-2010 editions you'll see éste, ése, aquél — recognise them, don't reproduce them. Second, in the rare case of genuine syntactic ambiguity — for example a sentence where este could plausibly be either an adjective modifying a following noun or a pronoun referring back — the RAE allows the accent as a clarifier. In practice, sentences of that kind almost never come up; rewriting is always cleaner than relying on a tilde to do the work of syntax.
The three distances at work
The pronouns inherit the spatial geometry of the adjectives — este near me, ese near you, aquel far from both — with the noun simply dropped:
—¿Qué libro prefieres? —Prefiero este.
—Which book do you prefer? —I prefer this one.
—¿Quién es ese de la camisa azul? —Es mi primo Javi.
—Who's that guy in the blue shirt? —It's my cousin Javi.
—¿Ves aquella casa, la del tejado rojo? —Sí, allí vivían mis abuelos.
—Do you see that house, the one with the red roof? —Yes, my grandparents lived there.
The same psychological shading from the adjectives applies. Aquel can push a referent into the distant past (aquellos eran mis amigos del colegio — "those were my friends from school," nostalgically). Ese can pull a referent into the hearer's mental space (ese del que hablabas — "that one you were talking about"). And the postnominal pattern (el chico ese) carries its own colloquial flavour that we'll come back to below.
Listing with three demonstratives: este... ese... aquel
When you want to enumerate three items in a row — a classic rhetorical pattern in Spanish — the three demonstrative pronouns slot in neatly:
De los tres pisos que vimos, este nos pareció el más luminoso, ese el más céntrico y aquel el más barato.
Of the three flats we saw, this one seemed the brightest, that one the most central, and that one over there the cheapest.
Mira las fotos: esta es de Granada, esa de Sevilla y aquella de Cádiz.
Look at the photos: this one is of Granada, that one of Seville, and that one of Cadiz.
This este... ese... aquel enumeration is more common in writing than in casual speech, but it shows up in journalism and in any context where a speaker wants to lay out three options with a clean parallel structure.
Anaphoric recency: este = latter, aquel = former
In formal and literary Spanish, este and aquel split the work that English does with the latter and the former. Este refers to the most recently mentioned referent; aquel refers to the earlier-mentioned one. Ese is roughly neutral.
Galdós y Clarín fueron contemporáneos: este vivió hasta 1901, aquel hasta 1920.
Galdós and Clarín were contemporaries: the latter (Clarín) lived until 1901, the former (Galdós) until 1920.
Madrid y Barcelona son las dos grandes ciudades del país: esta tiene su fuerza en el comercio, aquella en la administración.
Madrid and Barcelona are the country's two great cities: the latter (Barcelona) draws its strength from commerce, the former (Madrid) from administration.
This pattern shows up in newspapers, academic prose, and well-written essays. In casual conversation, Spanish speakers simply repeat the name or use a pronoun (él, ella). Recognise the pattern when you meet it; don't force it into everyday speech.
Pointing: deictic standalone use
When you're pointing at something physical, the gendered pronoun is the natural choice if you know what kind of object it is. If you don't know, you reach for the neuter (¿qué es eso?) — but when you do know, the gendered pronoun is sharper.
—¿Cuál quieres? —¡Esa! La de arriba, la del cartel rojo.
—Which one do you want? —That one! The one up top, the one with the red label.
No, no, ese no, el otro.
No, no, not that one — the other one.
This deictic standalone pattern is constant in shops, markets, and any situation involving choice. Note the rising intonation in the exclamative ¡esa! — the pronoun carries the full prosodic weight of the noun phrase.
Post-modified pronouns: este de Madrid, ese de Sevilla
The demonstrative pronoun pairs effortlessly with a prepositional or relative complement to identify the absent noun without having to say it:
—¿Qué jamón prefieres? —Este de Jabugo, sin duda.
—Which ham do you prefer? —This one from Jabugo, no question.
Tengo dos vecinos: ese del quinto y aquel del primero. El del quinto es músico.
I have two neighbours: that one on the fifth floor and that one on the first floor. The one on the fifth is a musician.
Esta que ves aquí es la receta original de mi abuela.
This one you see here is my grandmother's original recipe.
The pattern is pronoun + de + complement or pronoun + que + clause. It's the standard way to identify "the one from / the one that / the one with" something without repeating the noun, and it's extremely common in Spain.
Colloquial postposition: el chico ese, la mujer aquella
A distinctively peninsular pattern: definite article + noun + demonstrative. Here the demonstrative behaves syntactically like a postnominal pronoun-cum-modifier and almost always carries a slightly pejorative or dismissive flavour, sometimes affectionate depending on tone.
El chico ese no me cae nada bien, siempre llega tarde.
That kid — I don't like him at all, he's always late.
La mujer aquella del bar nos miró fatal cuando entramos.
That woman in the bar gave us a really nasty look when we came in.
Los tíos esos hicieron mucho ruido toda la noche.
Those guys made a lot of noise all night.
The article is mandatory in this construction — you cannot say ❌chico ese; it has to be el chico ese. The pattern is very common in peninsular spoken Spanish, less so in writing, and almost absent from formal registers. Use it to add a touch of attitude; don't use it in a business email.
Distinguishing este (pronoun) from esto (neuter)
The gendered pronouns and the neuter forms cover different territory. Use the gendered pronoun when you're replacing a specific noun that has a clear gender (book → este, chair → esta, friends → estos). Use the neuter when there is no specific noun — when you're pointing at something unidentified, or referring to a situation, an idea, or a whole clause.
¿Qué es esto? — No lo sé, lo encontré en el cajón.
What's this? — I don't know, I found it in the drawer. (unidentified → neuter)
¿Cuál es este? — Es el portátil nuevo de mi hermana.
Which one is this? — It's my sister's new laptop. (known gendered noun → gendered pronoun)
If you can answer "what kind of thing is it?" — book, computer, person — use the gendered pronoun. If you can't, or if the antecedent is a situation rather than an object, use the neuter. This is the most common confusion at A2 and it's worth drilling.
A note on aquel in everyday speech
In peninsular Spanish, aquel is alive and well — Spaniards reach for it constantly when something is far from both speaker and hearer, or when a time period is genuinely remote. But it does carry a slightly more deliberate, evocative tone than este or ese, and overusing it in casual speech can sound theatrical.
Aquellos veranos en el pueblo, qué buenos recuerdos.
Those summers in the village — what good memories.
Aquel día en el aeropuerto fue uno de los más raros de mi vida.
That day at the airport was one of the strangest of my life.
In Latin America, aquel has been retreating toward more literary contexts, with ese covering more "that" territory. In Spain you should feel free to use aquel — but match the register: it fits nostalgic, distant, or rhetorically marked uses better than neutral pointing across a room.
Forms that aren't pronouns: a quick contrast
To keep the categories straight, here is the same demonstrative working as adjective and as pronoun:
Este libro es mío.
This book is mine. (adjective — modifies 'libro')
Este es mío.
This one is mine. (pronoun — stands in for the absent noun)
¿Aquellas chicas? Son las primas de Marta.
Those girls (over there)? They're Marta's cousins. (adjective)
¿Aquellas? Son las primas de Marta.
Those (girls over there)? They're Marta's cousins. (pronoun — noun dropped from context)
The form is identical. Function is determined by whether a noun follows. Modern orthography keeps both functions unaccented.
Common Mistakes
❌ Éste es el libro que te recomendé.
Outdated since the 2010 RAE reform — demonstrative pronouns no longer carry a written accent.
✅ Este es el libro que te recomendé.
This is the book I recommended to you.
❌ ¿Qué es este? — No lo sé.
Wrong — for an unidentified object with no clear gender, use the neuter 'esto', not the gendered pronoun.
✅ ¿Qué es esto? — No lo sé.
What's this? — I don't know.
❌ De los dos pisos, prefiero ese (referring to a feminine noun 'casa').
Wrong — the pronoun must agree with the gender of the noun it replaces. If the antecedent is 'casa', the form is 'esa'.
✅ De las dos casas, prefiero esa.
Of the two houses, I prefer that one.
❌ Chico ese no me cae bien.
Wrong — the colloquial postposition requires the definite article. It must be 'el chico ese'.
✅ El chico ese no me cae bien.
That guy — I don't like him.
❌ Aquél de la camisa azul es mi primo.
Outdated accent — modern orthography writes 'aquel' without a tilde even as a pronoun.
✅ Aquel de la camisa azul es mi primo.
That guy in the blue shirt is my cousin.
Key takeaways
- Demonstrative pronouns use the same twelve gendered forms as the adjectives: este/-a/-os/-as, ese/-a/-os/-as, aquel/aquella/aquellos/aquellas.
- The three-way distance system carries over: este (near me), ese (near you), aquel (far from both).
- Since the 2010 RAE reform, demonstrative pronouns carry no written accent. Write este, ese, aquel in both functions; éste, ése, aquél are pre-2010 spellings.
- Use the gendered pronoun when the absent noun has a clear gender (prefiero este — el azul). Use the neuter esto / eso / aquello for unidentified objects or abstract referents.
- The colloquial postposition el chico ese / la mujer aquella is heavily peninsular, requires the definite article, and carries a dismissive or affectionate edge.
- In formal anaphora, este = "the latter" and aquel = "the former"; ese is neutral.
- Aquel stays alive in everyday peninsular Spanish, especially for distant past tense and remote location — more than in many Latin American varieties.
Now practice Spanish
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Spanish→Related Topics
- Adjetivos demostrativos: este, ese, aquelA1 — Spanish has a three-way distance system: este (near speaker), ese (near hearer), aquel (far from both). Each agrees in gender and number with the noun.
- Demostrativos neutros: esto, eso, aquelloA2 — Three invariable neuter demonstratives — esto, eso, aquello — refer to unidentified objects, abstract concepts, and whole situations; they never carry an accent and never modify a noun directly.
- Determinantes: visión generalA2 — The master inventory of Spanish determiners — articles, demonstratives, possessives, quantifiers, and the rest — all of which agree in gender and number with the noun they precede, and most of which compete for a single slot in the noun phrase.
- Tildes: cuándo y por quéA2 — The Spanish written accent — the tilde — does three jobs: mark non-default stress, distinguish homophones (el/él, tu/tú, si/sí), and mark interrogative pronouns. Covers the post-2010 RAE reforms that abolished the accent on demonstrative pronouns and on sólo.
- Anáfora y referenciaC1 — How Spanish tracks reference across sentences: pro-drop chains, definite articles, demonstratives, clitic pronouns, tonic pronouns, neuter clausal anaphora (eso, esto, aquello), lexical chains, and the este/aquel recency convention in formal prose.