Este Esta etc, Differences and usage of different words and rules

In English, we say this or that depending upon whether the object is close to us or not. In
Spanish, we also say this and that, but there is another, separate word used to mean that
one over there. This form is used when the object is more than just a short distance away, for
example, on the other side of the room. Here are the three forms for this that and that one
over there.

Remember that in Spanish, adjectives have four forms: masculine singular, masculine
plural, feminine singular, feminine plural. For example the adjective short has four
forms in Spanish: bajo, bajos, baja, bajas.

el chico bajo
los chicos bajos

la chica baja
las chicas bajas

este = this (masc.) esta = this (fem.) esto = this (neutr.)

estos = these (masc.) estas = these (fem.)

ese = that (masc.) esa = that (fem.) eso = that (neutr.)

esos = those (masc.) esas = those (fem.)

aquel (that one over there - masc.) aquella (that one over there - fem.)

aquellos (those ones over there - masc.) aquellas (those ones over there - fem.)

The esta, este can be either demonstrative adjectives or pronouns. Esto can only be a
demonstrative pronoun.

Here are the corresponding demonstrative pronouns:

este (this one masculine)

estos (these ones masculine)
esta (this one feminine)
estas (these ones feminine)

ese (that one masculine)

esos (those ones masculine)
esa (that one feminine)
esas (those ones feminine)

aquel (that one over there masc.)

aquellos (those ones over there masc.)
aquella (that one over there fem.)
aquellas (those ones over there fem.)
Each demonstrative pronoun also has a neuter form. They do not change for number or gender,
and they are used to refer to abstract ideas, or to an unknown object.
esto (this matter, this thing)
eso (that matter, that thing)
aquello (that matter/thing over there

Spanish Homophones
A homophone is a word that is pronounced the same (to varying extent) as another word but
differs in meaning. The two words may be spelled the same.

a (first letter of the alphabet), a (to), ha (conjugated form of haber)

ama, amo (owner, master/mistress), ama, amo (conjugated forms
of amar, to love)
* arrollo (conjugated form of arrollar, to roll up), arroyo (stream)
* asar (to roast), azar (chance, fate)
* Asia (Asia), hacia (toward)
asta (mast), hasta (until)
baile (dance), baile (type of judge)
barn (baron), varn (man)

basta (enough), basta (coarse), vasta (vast)

basto (coarse), vasto (vast)
bazar (bazaar), vasar (kitchen shelf)
be (phonetic spelling of the letter b), ve (phonetic spelling of the letter v)
bello (beautiful), vello (bird down)
bienes (property), vienes (conjugated form of venir, to come)
bis (encore), vis (force)

calle (street), calle (conjugated form of callar, to silence)

* call (conjugated form of callar, to silence), cay (conjugated form
of caer, to fall)
* casa (house), caza (conjugated form of cazar, to hunt)
* cazo (saucepan), cazo (conjugated form of cazar, to hunt)
* ce (phonetic spelling of the letter c), se (reflexive
pronoun), s (conjugated form of saber, to know)
* cebo (bait), sebo (fat)
* cegar (to blind), segar (to cut off)
* cepa (vine), sepa (conjugated form of saber, to know)
* cerrar (to close), serrar (to saw)
* cesin (cession), sesin (meeting)
 * cesto (basket), sexto (sixth)
* cien (hundred), sien (temple of the head)
* ciento (hundred), siento (conjugated form of sentir, to feel)
* cima (summit), sima (chasm)
* cocer (to cook), coser (to sew)
copa (cup), copa (conjugated form of copar, to win)
de (of, from), de (phonetic spelling of the letter d), d (conjugated form
of dar, to give)
el (the), l (he, him, it)
errar (to make a mistake), herrar (to put horseshoes on)
ese (that), ese (phonetic spelling of the letter s), se (that)
flamenco (Flemish, a dance), flamenco (flamingo)
fui, fuiste, fue, etc. (conjugated forms of ser, to be), fui, fuiste, fue,
etc.(conjugated forms of ir, to go)

grabar (to record), gravar (to worsen)

* halla (conjugated form of hallar, to find), haya (conjugated form
of haber, to have)
* has (conjugated form of haber, to have), haz (conjugated form of hacer,
to do)
hierba or yerba (herb), hierva (conjugated form of hervir, to boil)
hierro (iron), yerro (mistake)
hojear (to leaf through), ojear (to look at)
hola (hello), ola (wave)
honda (deep), honda (sling), onda (wave)
hora (hour), ora (conjugated form of orar, to pray), ora (correlative
conjunction usually translated as "now")
* hoya (hole in ground), olla (cooking pot)
* hozar (to move dirt around with one's snout), osar (to dare)
huno (Hunnish), uno (one)
huso (spindle), uso (utilization)
la (the, her, it), la (note of the musical scale)
* lisa (smooth), liza (battle)
mal (bad), mall (shopping mall)

mas (but), ms (more)

* masa (mass), maza (club used as weapon)
* mesa (table), meza (conjugated form of mecer, to rock)
mi (my), mi (note of the musical scale), m (me)
mora (Moorish), mora (blackberry)
o (letter of the alphabet), o (or)
oro (gold), oro (conjugated form of orar, to pray)
papa (potato), Papa (pope)
 * pollo (chicken), poyo (stone bench)
polo (pole as of a magnet or planet), polo (polo)
* poso (sediment), pozo (well, shaft)
puya (goad), puya (puya, a type of plant found primarily in the Andes)
que (who, that), qu (what, how)
* rallar (to grate), rayar (to make lines on)
* rasa (conjugated form of rasar, to skim), raza (race or ethnicity)
rebelarse (to rebel), revelarse (to reveal oneself)
recabar (to ask for), recavar (to dig again)
sabia (wise female), savia (vitality)
sol (sun, unit of Peruvian currency), sol (note of the musical scale)
solo (alone), slo (only)
si (if), s (yes)
* sumo (supreme), zumo (juice)
* tasa (rate), taza (cup)
te (you), te (phonetic spelling of the letter t), t (tea)
ti (you), ti (note of the musical scale)
tu (your), t (you)
tubo (pipe), tuvo (conjugated form of tener, to have)
vino (wine), vino (conjugated formof venir, to come)

The Four Spanish Porques: Por qu, porque, por que, porqu

1. Por qu? (Why?): Asking Questions in Spanish

Por qu is, together with porque, one of the most often used of the four porques. It means
why, and its very easy to use because it works exactly the same as in English. When you want
to ask why, write por qu. Notice that its made of two separated words with an accent mark
over the e.

Take a look at the following examples:

Por qu has venido? (Why have you come?)

Por qu no comes pizza? (Why dont you eat pizza?)
Por qu te vas? (Why are you leaving?)

As a question word, it can also be used in indirect questions:

No s por qu has venido. (I dont know why you have come.)

Me pregunto por qu no comes pizza. (I wonder why you dont eat pizza.)
Quiero saber por qu te vas. (I want to know why you are leaving.)
Summing up, every time you want to ask why, whether its directly or indirectly, use por
qu.
Por qu ests estudiando espaol? (Why are you learning Spanish?).
Me encantara saber por qu ests estudiando espaol. (I would love to know why you
are learning Spanish.)
2. Porque (Because): Giving Answers in Spanish

In English, when you ask a question using why, youll probably obtain a spoken answer
beginning with because. This is also true of Spanish, but our word for because is actually
another member of the porque family. In this case, we will translate because as porque,
and write it as one word without an accent mark. Use this word only when you are giving your
reasons:
Por qu has venido? Porque tengo tiempo libre.
(Why have you come? Because I have some free time.)
Por qu no comes pizza? Porque no tengo hambre.
(Why dont you eat pizza?) Because I am not hungry.
Por qu te vas? Porque ya es muy tarde.
(Why are you leaving? Because it is too late already.)
As in English, you will find porque when reporting events as well:
Me dijo que no vendra porque no tena tiempo.
(He told me he would not come because he didnt have time.)
Mi hermana me cont que volvi porque se haba olvidado la tarjeta de crdito.
(My sister told me she came back because she had forgotten her credit card.)
Ella dice que no come porque no tiene hambre.
(She says she is not eating because she is not hungry.)

So far we have seen two words that work in the same way both in Spanish and in English. No
drama! But of course, Spanish needs to have its moments of weirdness.

There are two additional words in Spanish formed by using the same combination
of por and que, which while describing a very similar notion in English, are translated and used
differently.
3. El porqu (The Reason): A Fun Spanish Noun
Who could have imagined you can make a noun out of por and que? And still, thats the truth.
When you write them together and add an accent mark over the e, you will have el porqu,
which is normally translated as the reason, or less commonly as why (used as a noun).
Porqu can be used with an article, have plural form (as in English whys and wherefores),
be modified by adjectives, etc. See this fascinating noun in action:
No entiendo el porqu de tu decisin.
(I dont understand the reason behind your decision.)
Me pregunt los porqus de mi decisin.
(He asked about the whys (the reasons/the causes) for my decision.)
Un gran porqu se nos presenta.
(A strong reason presents itself.)
Finally, here you have other useful expressions with porqu that might come in handy:
Todo tiene un porqu. (Everything has a reason.)
Sin un porqu. (Without any reason.)
El porqu de todo. (The reason for everything.)
4. Por que (For Which): Two Specific Uses
Por que (two words without an accent mark) is definitely the most difficult and the less
commonly used of the four porques. It can be translated as for which, but there are going to
be times when you will have to translate it as why or even (so) that.

It is present only in two very specific situations, so if you bear in mind the following two rules,
you will have no problem with it:

1. Write por que when you have a preposition (por) and a relative pronoun (que).
In these cases, you will be able to translate it as for which, and youll be able to change it in
Spanish for por el/la que or por el/la cual:
Esa es la razn por que (por la que / por la cual) vine.
(That is the reason for which (why) I came.)
Este es el motivo por que (por el que / por el cual) no llam.
(This is the reason for which (why) I didnt call.)
2. Write por que when a phrasal verb using por is followed by que.
Examples of Spanish phrasal verbs that use por can be optar por (to opt for,
decide), preocuparse por (to worry about, to take care of), luchar por(to fight for), decidirse
por (to opt for, decide), etc. Here are some examples:
Opt por que no vinieras. (I decided that you wouldnt come.)
Me preocupo por que no te pase nada. (I take care so that nothing happens to you.)
Lucho por que haya paz en el mundo. (I fight so that there is peace in the world.)
Hice lo que pude por que no llegramos tarde. (I did what I could so that we wouldnt be
late).
As you can see, por que is quite puzzling and it tends to be wrongly used even by native Spanish
speakers!
So dont worry if you cant master it at once. Start with the easy onespor qu and porque
then slowly start practicing with porqu, and finally confront por que. It will be a piece of cake
after the whole process!

By the way, do you know which of our two friends is the single one now? Ill leave you with
their opening words, so you can take another look at what they said. Understanding the meaning
will feel fulfilling, and prove that youve understood the concepts from this post!
Pedro: Por ti, lo hago todo porque me quieres.
Antonio: Por ti, lo hago todo por que me quieras.

The 7 Spanish Question Words and Their Various Uses

1. Who? Quin?
Quin is the word we use for who in a question, but it can change slightly depending on the
context its in.
We use quin for who (singular) and quines for who (plural).

Here are some examples of each.

Singular: Quin es tu pap? (Who is your dad?)

Plural: Quines son tus padres? (Who are your parents?)

This remains pretty simple, until we introduce the headache of whom vs. who. Many native
English speakers still cant seem to get this right, and in Spanish, its similar.

In many cases where we would use whom, we use a quin (singular) or a quines (plural).
A quin ests buscando? (You are looking for whom?)
And lastly, for whose, you would use de quin.
De quin es esta comida? (Whose food is this?)
2. What? Qu? and Cul?

Next on the list, we have the word what.

This ones so commonly used in the English language that translating it into Spanish can get a
bit tricky. It gets a little bit difficult because there are two different Spanish words that are
appropriate equivalents of what.

Depending on the context, sometimes well use qu and sometimes well use cul.
To try to make it as simple as possible, when were asking a question for which theres only one
possible answer, well use the word qu. For example, if youre asking for a definition, fact or
information about something thats generally well-known, qu would be used.

To make that a bit clearer, here are a few examples:

Qu es un martini? (What is a martini?)

Qu significa bailar? (What does bailar mean?)
 Secondly, the word cul will be used more when asking a question for which the answer requires
a selection or more personal information.
For example, you would use cul if you wanted to ask:
Cul es tu nmero de telfono? (What is your phone number?)
Cul es tu restaurante favorito? (What is your favorite restaurant?)
And as with most cases in Spanish, whether the subject of the sentence is plural or singular will
affect other parts of the sentence. With cul, if what youre inquiring about is plural, youll have
to use cules instead of cul.
3. When? Cundo?
Cundo is the word we use for when in a question.

This one is pretty straightforward and doesnt change much depending on the words that
surround it.

Heres an example of how to use cundo in sentence:

Cundo quieres ir? (When do you want to go?)
Now, I think this is a good time to revisit the detail about accents on question words that we
briefly discussed in the introduction. One thing to note about this question word, as well as all
the others, is that when its used without an interrogative meaning, the accent mark will be
dropped. Note the differences between these sentences:
Cundo quieres ir? (When do you want to go?) This is a classic interrogative sentence in Spanish.
Necesito saber cundo quieres ir. (I need to know when you want to go.) We find no question marks
here, but the meaning is still interrogative. Theres missing information thats being requested.
Cuando llegues, llmame. (When you arrive, call me.) No interrogative meaning here.
An example of this can be found in the song, Cuando Me Enamoro by Enrique Iglesias, which
translates in English to When I Fall in Love. Notice how since the word isnt interrogative, its
used as cuando instead of cundo.
4. Where? Dnde?

The proper way of saying where in Spanish has been known to give learners a bit of trouble,
but its really not that difficult once you learn the base word and pay attention to the slight
changes.

First off, we have dnde. This is the word we use most generally for where.
Heres an example of how to use dnde in a sentence:
Dnde est el restaurante? (Where is the restaurant?)
Next we have, adnde / a dnde which means to where.
Adnde / a dnde fuiste? (To where did you go?)
Lastly, we have de dnde, which means from where.
De dnde eres? (Where are you from?)
See, its really not that complicated if you pay attention to your prepositions. Youll have it in no
time with a bit of practice. And remember that when using dnde in a question, it must have the
accent mark.
5. Why? Para qu? and Por qu?

Whys the word for why so difficult to grasp?!

This word can be confusing for English speakers because there are two different words that may
be used and there are only subtle differences between the appropriate contexts for when to use
each.

The words we use are Para qu? and Por qu?

If youve already learned the differences between por and para, learning when to use these
why phrases should be easy, but if not, stay tuned.
Por qu is used to inquire about the direct cause of something, which is simple, specific or
generally well known. Porque is the non-question version of the word used for because.
Here are examples of when to use por qu:
Por qu ests acostado? (Why are you lying down?)
Porque me siento mal. (Because I feel bad.)
And para qu digs for something like an intention or purpose. Theres no real non-question
version. Heres an example:
Para qu estudias espaol? (Why do you study Spanish?/ What do you study Spanish for?)
See how the first question (with por qu) was a question about a cause and the second one
(with para qu) inquires for a purpose?
It will take some practice, so be sure to read up more about the differences
between para and por to master your Spanish questioning skills.
6. How? Cmo?
Cmo is often the word we use for how.

Surely, youve heard a few examples of this already.

Think of your basics, like Cmo ests? (How are you?)

This word is fairly simple and unchanging, but if you want to ask how many, it gets a little bit
trickier and theres another word that we use.

7. How many?/ How much? Cunto(a/os/as)?

Cunto is the Spanish word we use for how much and how many, and this word will change
depending on what youre asking about.
Cunto is used for a singular masculine subject (uncountable), cunta is used for a singular
feminine subject (uncountable), cuntos is used for a plural masculine subject and cuntas is
used for a plural feminine subject.

Here are a few examples:

Plural, masculine: Cuntos dlares cuesta la chaqueta? (How many dollars does the jacket
cost?)
Singular, masculine (uncountable): Cunto dinero cuesta la chaqueta? (How much money
does the jacket cost?)

Whew. That was a lot.

Give yourself a pat on the back. Youve learned the basics of asking questions in Spanish.

Once youve got these words down, many doors will open for you in Spanish conversation.

Buena suerte with your future interrogations in Spanish!