Este, Ese, Aquel

Spanish has three demonstratives, chosen by distance:

• este, esta, estos, estas (this, these): near me, the speaker — aquí, in my hand.
• ese, esa, esos, esas (that, those): near you, the listener — ahí, next to you.
• aquel, aquella, aquellos, aquellas (that, those over there): far from both of us — allá, in the distance.

They agree with the noun: esta casa, esos zapatos, aquellas montañas. For time, este/esta marks the present: esta semana (this week). The neuter forms esto and eso point to something without naming it, or to an idea: ¿Qué es esto? (What is this?), No digas eso (Don't say that). In everyday speech, especially in much of Latin America, ese often replaces aquel; in this lesson use aquel for things far from both of you.