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Sentence explanations

1. ¿Qué es esto?

   What is this?

   ¿Qué es

   what is...?

   esto

   this

   More detail

   ¿Qué es combines the question word qué (“what”) with es, the third-person singular present form of ser (“to be”). This pattern asks for the identity or nature of something: ¿Qué es ...? = “What is ...?” The form es agrees with the singular subject; here the subject is the demonstrative esto, not a named person. esto is a neuter demonstrative pronoun meaning “this” for an unspecified or unidentified thing. It can point to something nearby without naming its gender or noun. The related form eso means “that,” as in the following contextual question ¿Qué es eso? (“What is that?”). These demonstratives identify distance or discourse reference; esto does not itself state what the thing is. Together, ¿Qué es + esto produces ¿Qué es esto?: “What is this?” The question asks the listener to identify the nearby or currently indicated thing. Spanish places the question marks around the complete question.

2. ¿Qué es eso?

   What is that?

   ¿Qué

   what

   es

   is

   eso

   that

   More detail

   ¿Qué means “what” here and introduces a question asking for the identity or nature of something. The accent mark distinguishes interrogative qué from the conjunction que used in statements such as Sé que... (“I know that…”). Example: ¿Qué quieres? — “What do you want?” es is the present-tense third-person singular form of ser (“to be”). It is used here because the question asks what the thing is. Useful forms include soy (“I am”), eres (“you are,” informal singular), and es (“he/she/it is” or “you are,” formal singular, depending on the subject). Example: ¿Qué es esto? — “What is this?” eso is the neuter demonstrative pronoun meaning “that,” used for an unspecified thing, situation, or idea. It does not change for masculine or feminine gender or for number. The demonstrative contrast is esto (“this”), eso (“that”), and aquello (“that over there” or “that distant matter”). In the supplied exchange, eso contrasts with the earlier esto: the question asks about “that,” not “this.” Together, ¿Qué es eso? literally asks “What is that?” The question word qué asks for identification, es supplies “is,” and eso identifies the thing being asked about. This is a reusable pattern: ¿Qué es + demonstrative or noun?, as in ¿Qué es esa palabra? — “What is that word?”

3. ¿Quién es esa persona?

   Who is that?

   Quién

   who

   es

   is

   esa

   that

   persona

   person

   More detail

   Quién means “who” when asking about a person’s identity. The accent marks it as an interrogative form. Compare qué in ¿Qué es eso? (“What is that?”), which asks what something is, and cuál in ¿Cuál es el tuyo? (“Which one is yours?”), which selects from possibilities. Example: ¿Quién es ella? — “Who is she?” Es is the third-person singular present form of ser, “to be.” It agrees with a singular subject; the subject here is the person being identified. Example: Mi hermano es médico. — “My brother is a doctor.” Esa is the feminine singular demonstrative meaning “that.” Its form agrees with the feminine singular noun persona; it marks the referent as relatively distant from the speaker or already identifiable in the situation. The demonstrative’s grammatical agreement does not by itself identify who the person is. Example: Esa casa es grande. — “That house is big.” Persona means “person.” It is a feminine noun in Spanish, so a modifying demonstrative takes the feminine singular form: esa persona. This grammatical gender does not specify the person’s actual gender. Example: La persona espera. — “The person is waiting.” Together, ¿Quién es esa persona? asks for the identity of the person indicated by esa persona: “Who is that person?”

4. ¿Cuál es el tuyo?

   Which one is yours?

   Cuál

   which one

   es

   is

   el tuyo

   yours

   More detail

   Cuál asks which item or option is meant when the speaker is choosing among known possibilities. In a direct question it carries an accent mark: cuál. Compare qué, which more generally asks what something is. Example: ¿Cuál prefieres? — “Which one do you prefer?” Es is the third-person singular present form of ser, “to be.” Here it connects the question word with el tuyo. Its singular form corresponds to the singular item represented by el tuyo; es does not itself show masculine or feminine gender. Example: Este es el correcto. — “This one is the correct one.” El tuyo is a possessive pronoun meaning “yours” for a masculine singular understood noun. Tuyo is the masculine singular form here. The related forms vary with the represented noun: el tuyo, la tuya, los tuyos, las tuyas. The article is part of the expression when the noun is omitted; it does not itself identify the owner. Example: ¿Es tu libro? — No, el mío. — “Is it your book? — No, mine.” Together, ¿Cuál asks which item, es supplies “is,” and el tuyo identifies that item through its possessor. The complete utterance therefore means “Which one is yours?” It asks the listener to select the relevant item without repeating the noun.

5. Este es mío.

   This one is mine.

   Este

   this one

   es

   is

   mío

   mine

   More detail

   Este means “this one” here. It is a masculine singular demonstrative used independently, so no noun is stated after it. Its form indicates masculine singular grammatical agreement with the item being indicated; the supplied sentence does not identify that item more specifically. Compare ese for “that one” when distance or discourse position is different. es is the third-person singular present form of ser, “to be.” The singular subject este is why this form is used. Ser is the base form; for example, Esto es importante. means “This is important.” mío means “mine” here and stands independently after es. It is the masculine singular possessive form, agreeing with the possessed item, not with the person who owns it. The corresponding feminine singular form is mía: La llave es mía. means “The key is mine.” Tuyo means “yours,” as in the surrounding question and reply. Together, Este es mío. says that the indicated masculine-singular item is owned by the speaker: “This one is mine.”

6. Ese es tuyo.

   That one is yours.

   Ese

   that one

   es

   is

   tuyo

   yours

   More detail

   Ese means “that one” here. As a demonstrative pronoun, it points to a masculine singular referent at some distance from the speaker; the supplied sentence does not identify exactly what that referent is. Compare este in Este es mío. (“This one is mine.”): este points to something nearer, while ese points to something farther away or less close in the discourse. Demonstratives agree with the referent’s grammatical gender and number: ese is masculine singular, while esa, esos, and esas are feminine singular, masculine plural, and feminine plural. es is the third-person singular present form of ser, “to be.” The form ser is the base form; its present-tense forms include soy (“I am”), eres (“you are,” familiar singular), and es (“he/she/it is” or “that is”). Here, es links the demonstrative subject to what belongs to someone. tuyo means “yours” here and is a possessive pronoun, not an adjective directly placed before a noun. It refers to one masculine singular possessed item and therefore agrees with that item, not with the owner. The related forms are tuya for a feminine singular item, tuyos for masculine plural items, and tuyas for feminine plural items. Before a noun, Spanish normally uses the shorter possessive form tu: tu libro means “your book.” As a complete possessive pronoun, tuyo can stand alone: El libro es tuyo. means “The book is yours.” Together, Ese es tuyo. has the pattern demonstrative + ser + possessive pronoun: “That one is yours.” The demonstrative identifies the item as “that one,” and tuyo states that the item belongs to the person addressed. Unlike Este es mío., which says that the nearer item belongs to the speaker, this sentence assigns the indicated item to the addressee.