Lesson 32. This one and that one

Three distances

English has this and that. Spanish has three steps:

Where it is	Masculine	Feminine
near me	este / estos	esta / estas
near you	ese / esos	esa / esas
far from both of us	aquel / aquellos	aquella / aquellas

The word agrees with the noun, like an adjective: este tomate, esta bolsa, estos plátanos, esas manzanas. It can stand alone when it’s clear what you mean: ¿Cuánto cuesta este? — “How much is this one?”

In conversation, ese is often used for anything a bit away from the speaker. Aquel is less frequent; you’ll see it in writing or for a clear “over there.”

Esto and eso

Esto and eso never change. Use them for a thing you don’t name or can’t name: ¿Qué es eso? — “What’s that?” ¿Esto? — “This?”

At the market

El kilo — ¿Cuánto cuesta el kilo? — “How much is a kilo?” La bolsa is a bag. El plátano is the usual word for a banana in Spain. In some Latin American countries banana is common; what plátano names varies by region, from a sweet banana to a plantain used in cooking.