Common Mistakes With Portuguese Demonstratives English Speakers Make

Introduction

Portuguese demonstratives can be tricky for English speakers because English uses only three simple words — this, that, these — while Brazilian Portuguese has more forms and different placements. In this article you will learn the common mistakes English speakers make with Portuguese demonstratives and how to avoid them, with clear rules, examples, and cultural notes to help you sound natural in Brazil.

What are demonstratives in Portuguese?

Demonstratives point to people, objects, places, or ideas relative to the speaker and the listener. In Brazilian Portuguese the basic demonstratives are este, esse, and aquele and their gender and number variations: este/esta/estes/estas, esse/essa/esses/essas, aquele/aquela/aqueles/aquelas.

There is also a set of demonstratives used as pronouns and adverbs: aqui, aí, lá; and forms like isto, isso, aquilo to refer to ideas or unspecified things. Understanding how all these fit together is key to avoiding common mistakes.

Why English speakers struggle

English uses proximity only from the speaker point of view and has no gender or number agreement. Portuguese requires:

– Agreement in gender and number between demonstrative and noun
– Different demonstratives depending on relative distance to speaker and listener
– Different pronoun forms for abstract references

These differences lead to predictable errors: wrong form with gender, using the wrong demonstrative for listener vs speaker proximity, and confusing demonstrative pronouns like isto, isso, and aquilo.

Common mistake 1: confusing este and esse

English speakers often translate both this and that as the same Portuguese word, usually esse. But the distinction matters in Brazilian Portuguese:

– este and its forms point to something near the speaker (this, these).
– esse and its forms often point to something near the listener or previously mentioned in conversation (that, those).

Examples:

Este livro é meu. (The book that is here with me is mine.)
Esse livro é seu? (Is that book near you yours?)

If you use esse when the object is clearly near you, it can sound like you are referring to something the listener has or a thing already mentioned. Conversely, using este for something near the listener can sound odd or over-specific.

How to choose between esse and aquele

Another frequent error is mixing up esse and aquele. While both can translate to that, aquele usually indicates something farther away from both speaker and listener or in the past/context removed from the conversation.

Examples:

Veja aquele prédio lá no fundo. (Look at that building over there in the distance.)
Lembra daquele filme que vimos? (Remember that movie we saw?)

Using aquele instead of esse can exaggerate distance or suggest that the referent is no longer present or is part of shared memory.

Gender and number agreement mistakes

Portuguese demonstratives must match the gender and number of the noun they modify. English speakers often forget this because English demonstratives are invariable.

Rules:

– Masculine singular: este, esse, aquele
– Feminine singular: esta, essa, aquela
– Masculine plural: estes, esses, aqueles
– Feminine plural: estas, essas, aquelas

Examples with mistakes corrected:

Errado: Eu quero esse camiseta.
Certo: Eu quero essa camiseta. (camiseta is feminine)

Errado: Olhe aqueles casa.
Certo: Olhe aquela casa. (casa is feminine singular)

Demonstrative pronouns: isto, isso, aquilo

English speakers also mix up the demonstrative pronouns used for abstract ideas. Use these forms when pointing to an idea, situation, or unspecified thing rather than a noun.

– isto refers to something close to the speaker or something the speaker is introducing (this).
– isso refers to something close to the listener or something already said (that).
– aquilo refers to something distant or previously mentioned and removed from the conversation (that over there / that thing back then).

Examples:

Isto é importante. (This is important) — the speaker is introducing a point.
Isso não é verdade. (That is not true) — referring to a statement made by the listener.
Aquilo me assustou ontem. (That frightened me yesterday) — referring to a distant event.

Common error: Translating English this/that directly without considering closeness to speaker or listener. If you use isso when introducing a new idea, you risk making the sentence sound like you are referring to something the listener already mentioned.

Placement of demonstratives relative to nouns

In English demonstratives always come before the noun. In Portuguese, demonstratives typically come before the noun too, but spoken Brazilian Portuguese can place them after the noun for emphasis or in set expressions. For beginners, place the demonstrative before the noun:

Este carro é rápido.
Essa casa é bonita.

However, you might hear natural variations like carro este only in specific contexts or poetic language. Avoid placing the demonstrative after the noun until you are comfortable with more advanced patterns.

Demonstratives with verbs and possessives

Another common mistake is combining demonstratives improperly with possessive pronouns. Spanish learners may be tempted to stack demonstratives and possessives in the same way they would in English, but Portuguese has preferences.

Correct patterns:

Este meu amigo é médico. (This friend of mine is a doctor.)
Esse seu documento está aqui. (That document of yours is here.)

Less common or awkward patterns:

Errado: Meu este amigo é médico. — Do not put the possessive before a demonstrative. Instead put the demonstrative first or use a different structure.

Neutral demonstrative and abstract reference

The neutral forms isto, isso, and aquilo are especially useful for abstract references. English speakers often misuse nouns instead of neutral demonstratives or overuse the demonstrative as an adjective.

Use neutral demonstratives for:

– Referring to an abstract idea: Isso é interessante.
– Answering a question without repeating the noun: O que é aquilo? — Aquilo é uma ponte.

Cultural note: Brazilians use short, conversational forms like isso and aquilo frequently in everyday speech, sometimes accompanied by gestures. Learning to use these naturally will make your spoken Portuguese sound more fluent.

Common mistake 2: overusing este in spoken Brazilian Portuguese

In many parts of Brazil, native speakers prefer esse over este in casual speech for things that are not in the speaker’s immediate hand. English speakers who rigidly associate this with este may sound overly formal or slightly off.

Example in conversation:

Você viu esse vídeo que eu te mandei? (Did you see that video I sent you?) — even though the speaker sent it, casual usage often prefers esse because the video is associated with the listener or the chat thread.

Tip: Pay attention to regional and conversational usage; mimic native speakers you hear on TV or in conversation to adopt natural patterns.

Demonstratives with prepositions

When demonstratives follow prepositions, they contract with certain prepositions like com and de when used with certain forms. The important one to remember is de + demonstrative often becomes do/da/dos/das only with definite articles, not with demonstratives. So do not contract de + esse into desse? Actually this contraction exists: de + esse = desse, de + este = deste, de + aquele = daquele.

Examples:

O livro deste autor é famoso. (The book of this author is famous.)
As chaves desse carro desapareceram. (The keys of that car disappeared.)
A casa daquela família é antiga. (That family’s house is old.)

Common error: Trying to contract when not appropriate. For example, do not write de + isto as *disto? Actually dito forms exist only for neutral pronouns: disto, disso, daquilo are used with abstract references: Precisamos falar disto.

Demonstratives in reported speech and storytelling

In narratives, demonstratives help locate events in time and space. English speakers sometimes use the wrong demonstrative when retelling a story, making the timeline or distance unclear.

Examples:

Naquele dia, tudo mudou. (On that day — a specific past day distant in the narrative.)
Nesse momento, percebi o erro. (At that moment — a moment referenced in the conversation or immediate narrative.)

Using este in these cases would suggest the speaker is experiencing the moment now, which changes the storytelling perspective.

Practical tips to avoid mistakes

1. Learn the gender of common nouns and practice agreement. Make a short list of high-frequency words and their demonstrative forms.
2. Train the speaker vs listener distinction: use este for things near you, esse for things near the listener or mentioned, and aquele for distant or past references.
3. Master the neutral pronouns isto, isso, aquilo for abstract ideas.
4. Listen to Brazilian Portuguese conversations and notice which demonstrative speakers choose in context.
5. When in doubt, mimic native phrasing rather than literal translations from English.

Common phrases and examples to remember

Memorize these natural expressions to build intuition:

Este é o meu amigo. (This is my friend.)
Esse é o seu problema. (That is your problem.)
Aquela é a escola onde eu estudei. (That over there is the school where I studied.)
Isto não faz sentido. (This makes no sense.)
Isso foi incrível. (That was amazing.)
Aquilo foi há muitos anos. (That was many years ago.)

Conclusion

Portuguese demonstratives require attention to proximity, gender, number, and whether you refer to concrete nouns or abstract ideas. English speakers typically err by ignoring gender agreement, confusing speaker/listener distance, and misusing neutral pronouns. By practicing the distinctions between este, esse, and aquele, mastering isto, isso, and aquilo, and listening to native Brazilian usage, you will quickly reduce mistakes and speak more naturally.