ABSTRACT
Demonstratives are words that indicate the person or thing referred to. There are two sorts of demonstratives – demonstrative adjectives: estecoche; and demonstrative pronouns. In Spanish, there are three types of demonstratives: este, ese and aquel. The three demonstratives refer to different relationships in terms of space and time. The demonstratives can be used to convey derogatory connotations, as they can convey a psychological distancing from the referent: Por ahi vieneeseimbecil. With this derogatory meaning, the demonstrative adjectives can also be placed after the noun: No me hables delaschicasesas. The neuter form can only be a pronoun. The masculine and feminine can be either a pronoun or an adjective, although in either case they are spelt the same. Este and aquel can be used to mean ‘the latter’ and ‘the former’ respectively: El director y el secretario general asistieron a la reunion.
