A2 (Elementary)Lesson 6: Demonstratives, Possessives & Weather
Portuguese points in three directions — este (by me), esse (by you), aquele (over there) — plus the genderless isto, isso and aquilo. In everyday Brazil the first two collapsed into esse, and the real pointing is done by three little place words: aqui, aí and lá.
este / esta / isto = this, right by me — mostly written
esse / essa / isso = this or that — what Brazilians actually say
aquele / aquela / aquilo = that one over there, or back then
The place word carries the meaning: esse... aqui / esse... aí / aquele... lá
Gendered forms agree with the noun; the plural just adds -s: esses, essas, aqueles, aquelas
isto, isso, aquilo never change — they point at unnamed things and at whole ideas
They contract with de and em: desse, nesse, daquela, disso, naquilo
In writing, este points forward, esse points back
demonstrative (+ noun), usually anchored by aqui / aí / lá — or the demonstrative alone, as a pronoun
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Demonstratives are how you point without using your finger. You will need them the first time you want a pastel from behind glass, the first time somebody says something you agree with, and every single time you tell a story about back then. The catch: the textbook hands you three neat columns, and Brazil quietly runs on two of them plus three little place words. Learn the tidy version so you can read a contract, learn the street version so you can order lunch — and you will stop saying este like a legal document.
| by me (aqui) | by you (aí) | over there (lá) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| masculine | este / estes | esse / esses | aquele / aqueles |
| feminine | esta / estas | essa / essas | aquela / aquelas |
| no gender | isto | isso | aquilo |
That is the system on paper. In a Brazilian mouth the first two columns merged: esse does the work of both este and esse, and isso does the work of both isto and isso. So spoken Brazil runs two boxes — esse (here, or near you) and aquele (over there) — and you can go a whole day without hearing este once.
Careful, though: this is a merger, not a deletion. Este is alive and well on paper, so you still have to recognise it.
"Quanto custa esse aqui?" (How much is this one?)
"Essa blusa combina com você." (That blouse suits you.)
"Pode me mostrar aquela bolsa lá de cima?" (Can you show me that bag up there?)
"Esses aí eu já provei." (I already tried those on.)
"Essa foi boa!" (Good one!)
"Essa não! Esqueci a chave." (Oh no! I forgot the key.)
"É isso aí." (That's it. / Right on.)
"Concordo com isso." (I agree with that.)
When you point back at a whole statement, reach for the genderless form:
✅ "Ela vai mudar de emprego. Isso me surpreendeu." (She's changing jobs. That surprised me.)
❌ "Ela vai mudar de emprego. Essa me surpreendeu."
Essa is only right when a feminine noun is hiding behind it: "Contei uma piada. Essa foi boa!" — essa = essa piada.
Every grammar book pairs aqui with este, so the tidy forms are este livro aqui and esse livro aí. Brazilians say esse livro aqui all day long and nobody blinks. Write este when you are writing; say esse when you are speaking.
Asking "O que é isto?" out loud in Brazil sounds like you are reading off a customs form. The spoken question is "O que é isso?" — even when the thing is in your own hand. Keep isto for recognition: you will see it often and need to say it almost never.
Aquele abraço! was not Gilberto Gil's line. It belonged to the TV comedian Lilico, whose catchphrase — Alô, alô, Realengo: aquele abraço! — was all over Brazilian television in 1968–69; locked in a barracks near Realengo after the AI-5 decree, Gil kept hearing the soldiers greet him with it and, cut off from television in there, took it for a genuine goodbye. He built his farewell samba around it on the way out of Rio and into exile — which is exactly what the word does: aquele hug, the one nobody has to describe. Sources: Guia dos Curiosos · Instituto Gilberto Gil / Google Arts and Culture.
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