# Demonstrative adjectives in Spanish: how to use “este,” “esta,” and all the others

*This* guide tells you everything about all *those* Spanish words that look alike!

Almost as soon as you start studying Spanish, you’re bound to notice something frustrating: Many words look similar! This is especially true for the Spanish words for _this, that, these_, and the verb _estar_ (one of the [verbs meaning “to be”](https://blog.duolingo.com/ser-vs-estar/)).

Here’s everything you need to tell these words apart and choose the one you want!

### In this post:

- [Overview of Spanish demonstratives](https://blog.duolingo.com/demonstrative-adjectives-in-spanish/#spanish-demonstratives-and-how-they-work)
- [Words for _this_ and _these_ ( _este_, _esta_, etc.)](https://blog.duolingo.com/demonstrative-adjectives-in-spanish/#spanish-words-for-this-and-these)
- [Words for _that_ and _those_ ( _ese_, _esa_, etc.)](https://blog.duolingo.com/demonstrative-adjectives-in-spanish/#spanish-words-for-that-and-those)
- [Verb _estar_ (to be) and its conjugation ( _estoy_, _estás_, _está_, etc.)](https://blog.duolingo.com/demonstrative-adjectives-in-spanish/#the-spanish-verb-estar-to-be)

## Spanish demonstratives and how they work

The words for _this_, _that_, _these_, and _those_ are adjectives and nouns, and just like with all Spanish adjectives and nouns, you’ll need to keep the following in mind:

- [Grammatical gender](https://blog.duolingo.com/what-is-grammatical-gender/): Is the noun masculine or feminine?
- Number: Is the noun singular or plural?

(Still learning which nouns are masculine and feminine? There are [patterns to look for](https://blog.duolingo.com/learning-grammatical-gender-rules/)!)

Just like in English, Spanish uses versions of _this_ and _these_ to talk about things that are close or relevant to the speaker. They can be physically closer to you ( _**this** book_ vs. _**that** book_), closer in terms of time ( _**this** year_ vs. _**that** year_), or more important to the conversation for another reason ( _**this** idea_ vs. _**that** idea_). Spanish works like this, too!

Here’s how you’ll use that information to find the right form of the word.

## Spanish words for _this_ and _these_

English has a word for singular nouns ( _this_) and plural nouns ( _these_)—and Spanish takes it a step further by _also_ changing words according to gender. Here are the Spanish words for _this_:

|  | Word for _this_ | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Masculine singular | este | Este libro es mi favorito.<br>This book is my favorite. |
| Feminine singular | esta | Esta casa es nueva.<br>This house is new. |

There are also different forms for _these_ (the plural form of _this_) depending on whether the noun is masculine or feminine:

|  | Word for _these_ | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Masculine plural | estos | Estos libros son mis favoritos.<br>These books are my favorites. |
| Feminine plural | estas | Estas casas son nuevas.<br>These houses are new. |

### How to say _this one_ and _these ones_

Note that _este_, _esta_, _estos_, and _estas_ can all be used **without** a noun following them to mean “this” or “this one.”

|  | Word for _this (one)_ and _these (ones)_ | Meaning | Example |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Masculine singular | este | this one | Este es mi juguete favorito.<br>This (one) is my favorite toy. |
| Masculine plural | estos | these ones | Estos son mis colores favoritos.<br>These (ones) are my favorite colors. |
| Feminine singular | esta | this one | Esta es mi canción favorita.<br>This (one) is my favorite song. |
| Feminine plural | estas | these ones | Estas son mis galletas favoritas.<br>These (ones) are my favorite cookies. |

You might also see the above words spelled with an [accent mark](https://blog.duolingo.com/spanish-accent-marks/): _éste_, _éstos_, _ésta_, and _éstas_. This used to be the standard way to write them, but now the standard is _without_ a written accent!

### _Esto_ and _estos_

Finally, there are two words for “this” or “these” that you can use when you’re referring to something abstract or ambiguous or when the noun is unknown: esto and estos. Unlike the words above, which can occur before a noun, _esto_ isn’t used with a noun and can stand on its own to mean “this” or “this one.” (This also means that _estos_ [follows *both* patterns](https://blog.duolingo.com/demonstrative-adjectives-in-spanish/#spanish-words-for-this-and-these)!)

| Example | Reason for _este_ or _esto_ |
| --- | --- |
| Me gustan todos los perros, pero este es mi favorito.<br>I like all the dogs, but **this one** is my favorite. | _este_ because we’re referring to a specific dog, which we know is masculine |
| Se canceló la fiesta, ¡y esto es malo!<br>The party got canceled, and **this** is bad! | _esto_ because we’re talking about a general or abstract situation |
| ¿Qué es esto?<br>What is **this**? | _esto_ because we’re referring to something unknown |

## Spanish words for _that_ and _those_

The Spanish words for _that_ and _those_ work the same way! These forms are the same as those for _this_ and _these_, **but without the “t.”**

|  | Word for _that_ | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Masculine singular | ese | Ese libro es mi favorito.<br>That book is my favorite. |
| Feminine singular | esa | Esa casa es nueva.<br>That house is new. |

|  | Word for _those_ | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Masculine plural | esos | Esos libros son mis favoritos.<br>Those books are my favorites. |
| Feminine plural | esas | Esas casas son nuevas.<br>Those houses are new. |

### How to say _that one_ and _those ones_

_Ese_, _esa_, _esos_, and _esas_ can all be used alone, just like _este_, _esta_, _estos_, and _estas_:

|  | Word for _that (one)_ and _those (ones)_ | Meaning | Example |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Masculine singular | ese | that one | Ese es mi juguete favorito.<br>That (one) is my favorite toy. |
| Masculine plural | esos | those ones | Esos son mis colores favoritos.<br>Those (ones) are my favorite colors. |
| Feminine singular | esa | that one | Esa es mi canción favorita.<br>That (one) is my favorite song. |
| Feminine plural | esas | those ones | Esas son mis galletas favoritas.<br>Those (ones) are my favorite cookies. |

### _Eso_ and _esos_

[Just like _esto_ and _estos_](https://blog.duolingo.com/demonstrative-adjectives-in-spanish/#esto-and-estos), you can also use eso and esos to stand in for abstract, ambiguous, or unknown nouns. And just like _esto_, you’ll never see _eso_ before a noun—it’s always used alone.

| Example | Reason for _ese_ or _eso_ |
| --- | --- |
| Me gustan todos los perros, pero ese es mi favorito.<br>I like all the dogs, but **that one** is my favorite. | _ese_ because we’re referring to a specific dog, which we know is masculine |
| Se canceló la fiesta, ¡y eso es malo!<br>The party got canceled, and **that**’s bad! | _eso_ because we’re talking about a general or abstract situation |
| ¿Qué es eso?<br>What is **that**? | _eso_ because we’re referring to something unknown |

## The Spanish verb _estar_ (to be)

There’s another word that sounds a lot like the _this/that/these/those_ words… but thankfully, it’s entirely unrelated!

The verb _estar_ is one of the [Spanish verbs meaning “to be,”](https://blog.duolingo.com/ser-vs-estar/) and it’s used for locations, states, and in some compound verb forms (like _**is** running_). Since Spanish sentences don’t need to say the subject, you’ll need to pay close attention to the endings of _estar_ to know who did the action!

Here are its forms in the present tense:

| Present tense of _estar_ | Example |
| --- | --- |
| (yo) estoy | Estoy en la oficina.<br>I am in the office. |
| (tú) estás | Estás en la oficina.<br>You are in the office. |
| (él/ella/usted) está | Está en la oficina.<br>He/she is in the office.<br>You are in the office. |
| (nosotros/nosotras) estamos | Estamos en la oficina.<br>We are in the office. |
| (vosotros/vosotras) estáis | Estáis en la oficina.<br>You all are in the office. |
| (ellos/ellas/ustedes) están | Están en la oficina.<br>They are in the office.<br>You all are in the office. |

Spanish is known for its many verb tenses, but there’s one in particular worth mentioning here—because these forms look even _more_ similar to the demonstrative adjectives ( _este_, _esta_, etc.): the present subjunctive. This form will be familiar to intermediate and advanced learners!

The present subjunctive forms of _estar_ often have the same spelling as the demonstrative adjectives—but those accent marks make a difference in meaning _and_ pronunciation! For all the demonstrative adjectives, the first syllable is stressed (louder and a bit longer), while for the subjunctive of _estar_, the [syllable with the accent mark](https://blog.duolingo.com/spanish-accent-marks/) is stressed:

| Present subjunctive of _estar_ | Example |
| --- | --- |
| (yo) esté | Ojalá esté en casa a las cinco.<br>Hopefully I’ll be home at 5pm. |
| (tú) estés | Ojalá estés en casa a las cinco.<br>Hopefully you’ll be home at 5pm. |
| (él/ella/usted) esté | Ojalá esté en casa a las cinco.<br>Hopefully he/she will be home at 5pm.<br>Hopefully you’ll be home at 5pm. |
| (nosotros/nosotras) estemos | Ojalá estemos en casa a las cinco.<br>Hopefully we’ll be home at 5pm. |
| (vosotros/vosotras) estéis | Ojalá estéis en casa a las cinco.<br>Hopefully you all will be home at 5pm. |
| (ellos/ellas/ustedes) estén | Ojalá estén en casa a las cinco.<br>Hopefully they’ll be home at 5pm.<br>Hopefully you all will be home at 5pm. |

_Note: For the nosotros form of estar, the stressed syllable is “te,” in the middle of the word._

## _This_ is one you’ll want to bookmark!

Save this page to review these important differences, and rely on Duolingo for help with all kinds of Spanish grammar topics:

- [The most common mistakes in Spanish](https://blog.duolingo.com/mistakes-in-spanish-for-learners/)
- [_por_ vs. _para_](https://blog.duolingo.com/por-vs-para/)
- [_ser_ vs. _estar_](https://blog.duolingo.com/ser-vs-estar/)
- [When to use _le_ and _lo_](https://blog.duolingo.com/direct-indirect-objects-spanish/)
- [How to use the verb _gustar_](https://blog.duolingo.com/verbs-like-gustar-in-spanish/)