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Quick Grammar Reference
P o r t u g u e s e O n l i n e

>>Pronouns > Demonstratives

Demonstratives specify a distance between the speaker and any noun or pronoun. They correspond to this, that, these and those.

Portuguese has three demonstrative pronouns in the singular, meaning this (near me), that (near you) and that (over there) and three in the plural, with the meanings these (near me), those (near you) and those (over there). The gender of these words is invariable.

isto this
isso that
aquilo that (over there)
istos these
issos those
aquilos those (over there)

Isto é incrível means this is incredible and o que é isso? means what is that?. Aquilo and aquilos are reserved for marking a considerable distance between you and the demonstrative. Isto, isso, and all other demonstrative pronouns stand on their own and cannot modify another noun.

If, instead, you wish to say something like this car or those people, you will need to use a demonstrative adjective.

Demonstrative Adjectives

In most cases, these words are placed before the noun in both Portuguese and English.

Adjectives are words that describe a noun, and, in Portuguese, they must match the noun's number and gender. The demonstrative adjectives are listed above in the order masculine singular (the e endings), feminine singular (the a endings), masculine plural (the es endings), feminine plural (the as endings). If the noun is the masculine plural carros cars and you wish to point out those cars, you can say esses carros those cars or even aqueles carros those cars (off in the distance).