esto

this

pronoun EHS-toh Rare

Usage Note

Esto is the neuter demonstrative pronoun in Spanish — it refers to an idea, a situation, or something unidentified, never to a noun with a specific grammatical gender. Because Spanish has no neuter gender for nouns, esto (and its counterparts eso, aquello) fill that gap. It never carries a written accent mark in modern orthography.

Examples

"Esto no tiene ningún sentido."

Natural Translation

This makes no sense at all.

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