What's the difference between "este" or "esto"?

Question

I know este, esto, and esta translate as "this." Esto is for masculine and esta is for for feminine. But where does este come into this picture? I've mostly seen it refer to masculine nouns, but I can't see a reason for using este over esto or vice versa.

Second, I sometimes see "está" translate as "this," but I've also seen "esta." When is the accent appropriate, when is it not for the word "this"? Thanks

This thread is from 2010. - rac1, Feb 26, 2017

Answer 1

Esto es mi hogar.

That example is incorrect. Esto is, indeed, a demonstrative pronoun, but it is only used to refer to neuter, unknown or abstract concepts. (e.g. when there is no specific noun acting as its antecedent so that you would know the gender of the noun).

In the example sentence the pronoun's antecedent is hogar which is masculine. The correct pronoun would, therefore, be Éste or Este (accent mark is optional)

Esto is used for both masculine and feminine nouns,

Esto is used for neither a masculine (éste) nor feminine (ésta) noun (antecedents).

On the other hand. este is an adjective

este can be either a demonstrative pronoun (this one or this masculine thing) or demonstrative adjective (this masculine noun). Its antecendent or the noun that it modifies, if an adjective, must be masculine.

Esta is an adjective used for feminine nouns

Same argument. Esta can be either a demonstrative pronoun (this feminine thing) (ésta or esta) or a demonstrative adjective. (this feminine noun) (esta...no accent mark)

demonstrative pronouns

demonstrative adjectives

I would consult other friends for Spanish grammar advice.

1) Thanks for responding, your explanation clarifies things. 2) If you look up "esto" on SpanishDict, one of the first examples is "esto es tu regalo de cumpleaños" This appears to be violate the grammatical rules 3) I appreciate the response, and from... - 96b7e65f7f, Jan 10, 2011

your profile you're really helping people out, but you sounded haughty and condescending in your post such as "I would consult other friends..." It's just abrasive and not leaving room for error. O/w thank you. - 96b7e65f7f, Jan 10, 2011

Answer 2

1. To describe a noun that is close to the speaker

Close Singular Plural Masculine este (this) estos (these) Feminine esta (this) estas (these)

* Este restaurante es mi favorito. (This restaurant is my favorite.)
* Esta casa es grandísima. (This house is enormous.)
* ¡Estos burritos son fantásticos! (These burritos are fantastic!)
* Estas margaritas son ricas. (These margaritas are delicious.)

(from the Reference section)

I sometimes see "está" translate as "this," but I've also seen "esta." When is the accent appropriate, when is it not for the word "this"?

"Está" (with tilde/accent) means "he/she/you is/are". The tilde tells you to place the emphasis on the last syllable. "Esta" (no tilde) means "this" as noted above.

Very good my friend ! Even I understood that. - ray76, Jan 10, 2011

Answer 3

No quiero flagerar más al caballo. "Está" es de "estar", un verbo, y no tiene nada que ver con este tema.

Quedamos con "este" (siempre masculino), "esta" (siempre femenina), y "esto" (cuando hay duda).

Si el vocablo comienza una frase hay duda que no se ha resuelto, según la DRAE en la edición de octubre de 2015. Las dos versiones son correctas.

"Éste libro vale mucho." "Este libro vale mucho."

"Ésta vía no sirve para llegar a Teruel." "Esta vía no sirve para lllegar a Teruel".

Siempre pongo el tilde.

Answer 4

I've seen este used for nouns known to be masculine and esto used when gender may be unknown. For example, ¿Qué es esto? The speaker is asking what something is. The object and thus the gender is unknown. Not sure if this is a grammatical rule or just an accident of usage though.

On the second question, I think está with a tilde should always refer to a conjugate of estar. Without a tilde, it esta shoud be translated as "this".

Esta can mean "this" demonstrative adjective or "this one" (demonstrative pronoun) which is also written Ésta when necessary to avoid confusion - 0074b507, Jan 6, 2010

Thanks gfreed! When I was writing I meant Ésta. - 96b7e65f7f, Jan 7, 2010

Answer 5

Well I don't know about the first. But, está (is a form of estar and means "to be") and esta (only means "this") two different words.

Answer 6

Since I saw this is still getting views and the right answer still hasn't come up, I'll answer my own question. Explanation courtesy of a friend I met in Peru.

Esto is used for both masculine and feminine nouns, it is also a pronoun and not an adjective. Examples include Esto es mi hogar. (This is my home).

On the other hand. este is an adjective used for masculine nouns such as, Este partido es muy bueno. (This game is very good)

Esta is an adjective used for feminine nouns such as Esta carta es bonita. (This card is pretty).

With regard to the second part of my question, I think I probably saw typos with regard to está being used as the word "this."

I think your friend gave you some bad advice. - 0074b507, Jan 9, 2011

Answer 7

I think the answers given by both 0074b507 and interpol987 may be correct but incomplete, and therefore the two may be talking past each other a bit. Correct me if I'm wrong - I'm not a native Spanish speaker. The consensus among the native Spanish speakers that I know is that "Esto es mi hogar" would be acceptable as a response to the question "Que es esto?" If the information is being volunteered in the absence of the question, then "Este es mi hogar" would be more appropriate. Please correct me if this is incorrect.

Native Spanish speakers will always say "este es mi hogar" as opposed to saying "esto es mi hogar." It's just a matter of its usage. Nothing more, nothing less. - Oshnaj, Feb 26, 2017