Demonstrative pronouns and time reference

 

Whenever you refer to the present or past, stick to the following rules:

  • Use este, esta, estes, estas to refer to the present or future;

  • Use esse, essa, esses, essas or aquele, aquela, aqueles, aquelas to refer to the past.

None of the above can be used to refer to a specific time in the future:

no ano que vem next year
na próxima semana next week

 

 

Isto, isso and aquilo

These pronouns are only used to refer to things or clauses, and can never be followed by nouns. They are invariable singular masculine pronouns.

  • Use isto or isso to refer to things you have just mentioned:

Ela está sempre reclamando. Isto é muito chato. She's always complaining. This is very boring.
Ela está sempre reclamando. Isso é muito chato. She's always complaining. That is very boring.

 

 

Other demonstrative pronouns and their most important uses

 

Masculine singular Masculine plural Feminine singular Feminine plural
mesmo mesmos mesma mesmas
tal tais tal tais
próprio próprios própria próprias
o os a as

 

mesmo, mesmos, mesma, mesmas = same

Notice the use of the definite articles (o, a, os, as) below.
Ele gosta das mesmas coisas que eu. He likes the same things I do.
Ele ainda é o mesmo. He's still the same. (he hasn't changed at all)

 

próprio, própria, próprios, próprias = own, very
Ele traiu o próprio irmão. He betrayed his own friend.
Eu a vi com meus próprios olhos. I saw her with my very eyes.

 

 

Attention

When mesmo, mesma, mesmos, mesmas follow a personal pronoun, they correspond to English emphatic pronouns:

Eu mesmo fiz o bolo. I myself made the cake.
Ela mesma escreveu o poema. She herself wore the poem.
Nós mesmos pintamos a casa. We ourselves painted the house.

 

Próprio, própria, próprios, próprias may also correspond to English emphatic pronouns, especially before nouns:

A própria mulher tingiu os cabelos. The woman herself colored her hair.
Os próprios meninos construíram a casa sobre a árvore. The boys themselves built the tree house.

 

o, os, a, as = that which, those which, what, the one(s)

 

They are always followed by que, and can never be followed by nouns.
Isso é o que eu disse. That's what I said.
Maria é a que está grávida. Maria is the one which is pregnant.
Foi eu que venci a competição, e eles, os que se divertiram. It was I who won the contest, and they, those which had a good time.

 

Remember that o, a, os, as may be:

  •  definite articles;

  • object pronouns;

  • demonstrative pronouns.

 

 

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