Point to things with este, ese and aquel

Three levels of distance

este/esta/estos/estas: here, right next to me - este libro (this book, in my hand).

ese🔊/esa/esos/esas: there, near you or a little further away - esa casa (that house).

aquel/aquella/aquellos/aquellas: over there, far from both of us - aquellas montañas (those mountains over there).

Before a nounnounA word that names a person, thing, place, or idea, such as house or sun.: gendergenderThe grammatical class of a Spanish noun: masculine or feminine. and number

The demonstrative comes before the nounnounA word that names a person, thing, place, or idea, such as house or sun. and agrees with it - masculinemasculineA noun's gender that typically takes el or un in Spanish. or femininefeminineA noun's gender that typically takes la or una in Spanish., singularsingularThe grammatical form used for exactly one person or thing. or pluralpluralThe grammatical form used for more than one person or thing.: este libro, esta casa, estos zapatos, estas faldas.

Careful: there is no articlearticleA short word placed before a noun that shows its gender and number, such as el or la.. You say este libro, never el este libro.

Without a nounnounA word that names a person, thing, place, or idea, such as house or sun.: as a pronoun

When it is clear what you are talking about, you simply leave out the nounnounA word that names a person, thing, place, or idea, such as house or sun.. The form stays the same: ¿Qué libro quieres? – Este. ¿Qué casa te gusta? – Esa. ¿Qué zapatos son tuyos? – Aquellos.

esto, eso, aquello

You use these three forms when you do not know what something is or do not want to name a nounnounA word that names a person, thing, place, or idea, such as house or sun. - especially in questions: ¿Qué es esto? (What is this?) ¿Qué es eso? (What is that?) They never change and never come before a nounnounA word that names a person, thing, place, or idea, such as house or sun..