este, esta, esto

Question

I understand there being two translations for 'this' depending on masculine or feminine, but why 3 and how do you know when to use which? For example in this sentence:

Hay varias razones para este/esta or esto?

My guess is esta to agree with razones which is feminine.

Answer 1

Hi Alex.

Ésta is feminine, which goes with feminine nouns. For example, "ésta camisa" (this shirt).

Éste is masculine, which goes with masculine nouns. For example, "éste libro" (this book).

Esto is nuetral, which you use when the topic, subject, etc. is not known. For example, "¿Qué es esto?" (What is this?).

I got this quote from the article on demonstrative pronouns:

Neuter demonstrative pronouns are used regularly in daily Spanish speech to refer to concepts, ideas, or something that is not known.

thank you, straight forward answers always appreciated! - alexengijon, Mar 30, 2010