Portuguese made easy - demonstrative
How to say "this", "that", "these" and "those" in Portuguese
The Portuguese have one word for "this" but they have two words for "that". They distinguish between a "that" that is near to the person who you're speaking to and also to a "that" that is far from both of you. (In English we'll often say "over there" to give the same idea for something far away). 
The word for "this" and "this one" is the same (ie you don't have to translate "one") As always the words change according to whether the thing being describing is singular, plural, masculine or feminine.
Study (and memorize!) the following charts.
|
SINGULAR |
masculine |
feminine |
|
This / this one |
este |
esta |
|
That / that one (near) |
esse |
essa |
|
That / that one (over there) |
aquele |
aquela |
|
PLURAL |
masculine |
feminine |
|
These / these ones |
estes |
estas |
|
Those / those ones (near) |
esses |
essas |
|
Those / those ones (over there) |
aqueles |
aquelas |
Examples: este livro (this book), esse livro (that book), aquele livro (that book over there), estes livros (these books), esses livros (those books), aqueles livros (those books over there), essa casa (that house), esta casa, (that house) aquela casa (that house over there), estas casas (theses houses), essas casas (those houses), aquelas casas (thoses houses over there), etc ...
When there is no specific word being described (eg "That's not fair", "What's this?") the Portuguese use another variant:
|
|
|
|
This |
isto |
|
That (near) |
isso |
|
That (over there) |
aquilo |
There is no plural form.
Examples: O que é isto? - (What's this), Isso é ótimo (That's great), O que é aquilo? (What's that?)