The Neuter Demonstrative Pronouns “Eso,” “Esto,” and “Aquello”
The word demonstrative comes from the verb to demonstrate, and that's exactly what a Spanish demonstrative pronoun (pronombre demostrativo) does: demonstrates, or identifies, the noun it refers to. When the noun is unidentified, abstract, or unknown, the neuter demonstrative pronouns esto, eso, and aquelloare used.
Imagine you are shopping for souvenirs in Cusco. Your Spanish is pretty good, but you don’t have the vocabulary to tell the store clerk that you want the alpaca wool scarf hanging behind him. So instead, you can point to the scarf and say “I want that one.” You know that every noun in Spanish has a gender, but how would you know whether to use eseor esawhen you don't know if the word scarf in Spanish is masculine or feminine? Luckily, you don’t have to worry about the object’s gender if you use a neuter demonstrative pronoun!
Demonstrative Pronouns vs. Their Neuter Counterparts
There are three types of demonstrative pronouns in Spanish, and they all must match the nouns they replace in gender and number. Each demonstrative pronoun also has a neuter form that does not change in number or gender.
Neuter Demonstrative Pronouns and General Statements
Esto, eso, and aquello are often combined with a conjugated form of serto make general statements.
Let’s take a look at some examples.
Neuter Demonstrative Pronouns and Abstract Ideas
Neuter demonstrative pronouns are often used to refer to abstract ideas.
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Neuter Demonstrative Pronouns and Unidentified Nouns
Neuter demonstrative pronouns are used when the noun’s gender is unknown or not yet identified.
After the gender of a noun has been established in a conversation, the ending of the demonstrative adjective must be changed in order to agree with the noun.
Let’s put this into practice! Here is an example of a conversation between a store clerk and a customer.
Read more about Spanish grammar with these articles:
