Breakdown of Esas revistas son interesantes.
Questions & Answers about Esas revistas son interesantes.
Esas means those (feminine plural) and usually refers to things that are not right next to the speaker—they’re at some distance, or maybe closer to the listener.
Estas means these (feminine plural) and refers to things close to the speaker.
So:
- Esas revistas = those magazines (over there / not right here)
- Estas revistas = these magazines (here, near me)
In most of Latin America, ese/esa/esos/esas often covers both “middle distance” and “far away,” so esas is the normal word for those.
Revistas is feminine plural.
- The singular is revista (ends in -a, usually feminine).
- The plural adds -s, so revistas.
A lot of nouns ending in -a are feminine, and their plural ends in -as:
casa → casas, mesa → mesas, revista → revistas.
There are exceptions, but this is a very common pattern.
In Spanish, determiners (like esas) and adjectives (like interesantes) must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe (revistas).
- Noun: revistas → feminine, plural
- Demonstrative: esas → feminine, plural form of ese
- Adjective: interesantes → plural to match revistas
Note that interesante is the same for masculine and feminine in singular, and interesantes is the same for both in plural:
- revista interesante / revistas interesantes
- libro interesante / libros interesantes
In Spanish, most descriptive adjectives normally come after the noun:
- revistas interesantes = interesting magazines
- libros nuevos = new books
- casas grandes = big houses
Putting the adjective before the noun is possible, but it usually adds emphasis or a more literary/poetic or subjective tone. The neutral, everyday order is noun + adjective, as in revistas interesantes.
You can say Esas interesantes revistas, but it sounds more emphatic or literary, not like neutral everyday speech.
- Esas revistas interesantes → normal, neutral: those interesting magazines
- Esas interesantes revistas → more marked, often with contrast or expressiveness: those interesting magazines (as opposed to others)
For regular conversation, keeping interesantes after revistas is the safest, most natural choice.
Both ser and estar can go with adjectives, but they usually express different ideas:
- ser + adjective → more inherent / general / characteristic quality
- estar + adjective → more temporary / current state / result of a change
Esas revistas son interesantes presents being interesting as a general characteristic of those magazines.
If you used están interesantes, it would sound more like right now (or in this particular issue / context) they’re interesting, suggesting a more temporary or surprising state.
It’s not wrong, but it means something a bit different and is less neutral.
- Esas revistas son interesantes. → In general, as a quality, they are interesting.
- Esas revistas están interesantes. → This time / at this moment / in this edition, they happen to be interesting; maybe they’re more interesting than usual, or you’re commenting on their current content.
So son interesantes is the standard, textbook choice for a general statement.
Some common variations:
1. Singular feminine (one magazine):
- Esa revista es interesante. → That magazine is interesting.
2. Plural masculine (e.g., “books”):
- Esos libros son interesantes. → Those books are interesting.
3. Singular masculine:
- Ese libro es interesante. → That book is interesting.
Pattern:
- Feminine: esa revista, esas revistas
- Masculine: ese libro, esos libros
The verb and adjective also change for singular:
- es interesante (singular)
- son interesantes (plural)
Modern standard Spanish (RAE recommendation) is without the accent: esas revistas.
In older texts or older teaching materials, you may see ésas with an accent, but today the RAE says the accent is not needed and should generally be avoided, except in some very rare ambiguous cases.
So as a learner, you should write esas revistas, no accent.
No. You cannot combine esas and las in front of the same noun like that.
You have two separate options:
- Esas revistas son interesantes. → Those magazines are interesting.
- Las revistas son interesantes. → The magazines are interesting. (general group already known in the context)
But Esas las revistas… is incorrect; choose either the demonstrative (esas) or the article (las), not both.
Both follow regular Spanish stress rules:
- revistas → re-VIS-tas
- Stress on the second syllable VIS.
- interesantes → in-te-re-SAN-tes
- Stress on SAN.
In Spanish, words ending in a vowel, -n, or -s are normally stressed on the second-to-last syllable, which is exactly what happens with revistas and interesantes.