Demonstratives: este, esse and aquele

In brief

Demonstratives point to a person or thing: esse often means ‘this’ or ‘that’ in everyday Brazilian Portuguese, while aquele means ‘that one over there’. Este can mean ‘this one near me’, but is less common than esse in casual speech.

Form

Before a noun, choose the form that matches its gender and number: este/esta/estes/estas, esse/essa/esses/essas, or aquele/aquela/aqueles/aquelas. The same forms can stand alone: Quero aquela (‘I want that one’).

Usage

• Use esse/essa for something near the listener; in casual Brazilian speech, they are also common for something near the speaker.
• Use este/esta when you want to specify something near the speaker, especially in more careful speech or writing.
• Use aquele/aquela for something farther away from both speaker and listener.
• When you are not naming a specific noun, isso (‘this/that’) and aquilo (‘that over there’) are useful.

Examples

• Essa cadeira está livre? — Is this chair free?
• Este formulário é para você. — This form is for you.
• Aquela loja fecha cedo. — That store over there closes early.
• Isso é importante. — That’s important.

Common mistake

❌ Esse cadeira está livre?

✅ Essa cadeira está livre?

English ‘this’ does not change form, but Portuguese demonstratives agree with the noun: cadeira is feminine, so use essa.

Remember

In casual Brazilian speech, esse is often used where a textbook might teach este.