Neuter demonstratives: esto, eso and aquello

¿Qué es esto? Es un regalo para ti.What is this? It's a gift for you.

Sometimes you want to point at something without naming it, or talk about a whole situation or idea rather than one noun. Spanish has three special words for this: esto, eso and aquello. They are called neuter because they are neither masculine nor feminine: Spanish nouns are always one or the other, but these words stand for "something" that isn't a named noun at all.

Quick shortcut: esto = this (near me), eso = that (near you, or what was just said), aquello = that over there (far from both). They stand alone: never before a noun, never in the plural, never with an article, and never with a written accent.

The three forms

They follow the same three degrees of distance as este, ese and aquel, and they are built alike: este → esto, ese → eso, aquel → aquello. The difference is that they have only one form each: no feminine, no plural.

What they refer to

esto, eso and aquello are used when there is no noun to attach a demonstrative to:

• Something you don't know or haven't named: ¿Qué es esto? (What is this?) · No entiendo eso. (I don't understand that.)
• Something you point at without naming it: Me gusta esto. (I like this.) · Quiero aquello. (I want that over there.)
• A whole situation, statement or idea: Eso es verdad. (That is true.) · Esto es difícil. (This is difficult.) · Aquello fue increíble. (That was incredible.)

eso is very common as a reply to what someone has just said: Eso es. (That's right.) · Eso es una buena idea. (That's a good idea.) It also appears in the everyday phrase por eso (that's why): Estoy cansado, por eso me voy a casa. (I'm tired, that's why I'm going home.)

For a plain "it" without pointing, Spanish usually drops the subject (Es interesante.), as in the lesson on subject pronouns. eso adds the idea of pointing: Eso es interesante. (That is interesting.)

Verbs and adjectives with them

The verb is normally in the third person singular, as in Esto es... and Eso está... (see ser and estar). An adjective that describes them takes the masculine singular form, even though the words are not masculine nouns: Esto es bueno. · Eso es importante. · Aquello es muy bonito.

Not before a noun

Before a noun, the words you need are the demonstrative adjectives este/esta, ese/esa and aquel/aquella, which agree with the noun: este libro, esa casa, aquel edificio. esto, eso and aquello never go before a noun. If you already know what the thing is called, you would usually name it with a demonstrative adjective, or use the pronoun forms of este/ese/aquel covered in Demonstrative pronouns (este, ese, aquel as pronouns).

No written accent

The neuter forms never carry a written accent: ✅ esto, never ❌ ésto.

Common mistakes

• ❌ esto libro → ✅ este libro (before a noun, use the demonstrative adjective that agrees with it)
• ❌ eso casa → ✅ esa casa (same idea)
• ❌ Esto es buena. → ✅ Esto es bueno. (an adjective describing esto takes the masculine singular form)
• ❌ ésto → ✅ esto (the neuter forms never take a written accent)

Quick check

Which word completes each sentence?

1. ¿Qué es ___? (something on the table next to me)
2. ___ es verdad. (you answer what someone has just said)
3. ¿Qué es ___? (something far away, across the field)
4. ___ libro es nuevo. (esto or este?)
5. Esto es muy ___. (bueno or buena?)
6. How do you say "that's why" in Spanish?

Key takeaways

• esto (near me), eso (near you, or what was just said) and aquello (far from both) stand for something unnamed, unknown, or a whole situation or idea.
• Each has only one form: no gender, no plural, and they never go before a noun.
• They follow the same three degrees of distance as este/ese/aquel.
• The verb is normally third person singular, and an adjective takes the masculine singular form: Esto es bueno.
• They never take a written accent: esto, not ésto.
• eso often answers what someone just said (Eso es.) and appears in por eso (that's why).