Demonstratives in Catalan

Overview

Demonstratives are the words for "this," "that," and "that over there." Catalan has a three-level system based on distance from the speaker, which is richer than the two-level English system. At the A1 level, you need to know how to point things out and refer to objects at different distances.

The three levels are: aquest/aquesta (this, near me), aqueix/aqueixa (that, near you), and aquell/aquella (that over there). In practice, the middle form aqueix is becoming less common in everyday speech, and many speakers use only aquest (this) and aquell (that). However, all three forms appear in written Catalan.

Catalan also has neuter demonstrative pronouns — això (this thing), allò (that thing) — used to refer to ideas, situations, or unidentified things. These are invariable and very useful in conversation.

How It Works

Demonstrative Adjectives

Distance	Masculine sg.	Feminine sg.	Masculine pl.	Feminine pl.
Near speaker	aquest	aquesta	aquests	aquestes
Near listener	aqueix	aqueixa	aqueixos	aqueixes
Far from both	aquell	aquella	aquells	aquelles

Neuter Demonstrative Pronouns

Form	Meaning	Example
això	this (thing/idea)	Què és això? (What is this?)
allò	that (thing/idea)	Allò que vas dir. (What you said.)

Examples in Context

Catalan	English	Note
aquest llibre	this book	Near speaker, masculine
aquella casa	that house (over there)	Far, feminine
Què és això?	What is this?	Neuter pronoun
M'agrada aquesta pel·lícula.	I like this film.	Near speaker, feminine
Aquells nens juguen al parc.	Those children play in the park.	Far, masculine plural
Aquesta camisa o aquella?	This shirt or that one?	Contrast near/far
Això és molt important.	This is very important.	Referring to an idea
Aquelles muntanyes són boniques.	Those mountains are beautiful.	Far, feminine plural
Allò que em vas dir era veritat.	What you told me was true.	Neuter, referring to past speech
Agafa aquest, no aquell.	Take this one, not that one.	Used as pronouns

Common Mistakes

Forgetting gender/number agreement

• Wrong: aquest casa
• Right: aquesta casa
• Why: Demonstratives must agree with the noun in both gender and number. "Casa" is feminine, so use "aquesta."

Using "això" for a specific gendered noun

• Wrong: Això llibre (trying to say "this book")
• Right: Aquest llibre.
• Why: "Això" is a neuter pronoun used alone, not as an adjective before a noun. Use aquest/aquesta before nouns.

Overusing the middle form "aqueix"

• Note: In modern spoken Catalan, aqueix/aqueixa is rare. Most speakers use aquest for "this" and aquell for "that."
• Why: The three-tier system is preserved in writing and formal usage, but daily speech has largely simplified to two tiers.

Practice Tips

1. Point to objects at different distances and practice: "aquest bolígraf" (near you), "aquell rellotge" (far away). Get comfortable switching between the two main forms.
2. Practice "això" and "allò" with abstract references: "Això és fàcil" (This is easy), "Allò que dius és cert" (What you say is true).
3. Go through a room and describe items: "Aquesta taula és gran. Aquell quadre és bonic. Aquests llibres són nous."

Related Concepts

• Gender and Number of Nouns — demonstratives must agree with noun gender and number
• Definite Articles — articles that also mark gender and number