Learn Romance Languages Vocabulary Together - French, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese Vocabulary Side-by-Side

Romance Languages Vocabulary: Articles and Demonstratives

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English	French	Italian	Spanish	Portuguese
Definite article
the (masculine)	le / l'	il / lo / l'	el	o
the (feminine)	la / l'	la / l'	la	a
the (masc. plural)	les	i / gli	los	os
the (fem. plural)	les	le	las	as

Indefinite article
a / an (masculine)	un	un	un	um
a / an (feminine)	une	una / un'	una	uma
some (masc. plural)	des	dei / degli	unos	uns
some (fem. plural)	des	delle	unas	umas

Demonstrative adjectives
this (masculine)	ce / cet ... -ci	questo / quest'	este	êste
this (feminine)	cette ... -ci	questa / quest'	esta	êsta
these (masculine)	ces ... -ci	questi	estos	êstes
these (feminine)	ces ... -ci	queste	estas	êstas

that (masculine)	ce / cet ... -là	quel / quello / quel'	ese	êsse
that (feminine)	cette ... -là	quella / quell'	esa	êssa
those (masculine)	ces ... -là	quei / quegli	esos	êsses
those (feminine)	ces ... -là	quelle	esas	êssas

that [further away] (masculine)	ce / cet ... -là	quel / quello / quel'	aquel	aquele
that [further away] (feminine)	cette ... -là	quella / quell'	aquella	aquela
those [further away] (masculine)	ces ... -là	quei / quegli	aquellos	aqueles
those [further away] (feminine)	ces ... -là	quelle	aquellas	aquelas

Demonstrative Pronouns
this (masculine)	celui-ci	questo	éste	êste
this (feminine)	celle-ci	questa	ésta	êsta
these (masculine)	ceux-ci	questi	éstos	êstes
these (feminine)	celles-ci	queste	éstas	êstas

that (masculine)	celui-là	quello	ése	êsse
that (feminine)	celle-là	quella	ésa	êssa
those (masculine)	ceux-là	quelli	ésos	êsses
those (feminine)	celles-là	quelle	ésas	êssas

that [further away] (masculine)	celui-là	quello	aquél	aquele
that [further away] (feminine)	celle-là	quella	aquélla	aquela
those [further away] (masculine)	ceux-là	quelli	aquéllos	aqueles
those [further away] (feminine)	celles-là	quelle	aquéllas	aquelas

French and Italian forms that end in an apostrophe (such as l' or quest') are used directly before words beginning with a vowel.
Italian definite articles: il is used with most masculine nouns, but lo is used before nouns beginning with z, gn, ps, or s + consonant. The plural form of il is i, while the plural form of lo and l' is gli.
A neuter form of the Spanish definite article also exists: lo It is used to make adjectives into nouns that exist as concepts or categories, such as lo importante - what is important.
French and Italian technically do not have the plural indefinite articles comparable to Spanish and Portuguese. However, to express the some + plural noun, you can use the forms above in bold italics. In Italian, dei is used before most plural nouns beginning with a consonant, while degli is used before plural nouns beginning with a vowel, or z, gn, ps, or s + consonant.
French demonstrative adjectives: ce is used before masculine nouns beginning with a consonant, while cet is used before masculine nouns beginning with a vowel or h. The forms -ci and -là are added to the end of the noun to indicate the difference in distance (this vs. that, these vs. those).
Italian demonstrative adjectives: the forms of quel- follow the same pattern as for the definite articles.
Spanish and Portuguese have three sets of demonstratives because they make the distinction between here (this, these), there (that, those) and even further over there / away (that, those). This last form no longer exists in English, French, or Italian.
Spanish and Portuguese also have neuter demonstratives that do not replace nouns, but rather refer to a previous statement: esto / eso / aquello in Spanish and isto / isso / aquilo in Portuguese.
Notice that the Spanish demonstrative adjectives and pronouns only differ because of the accent mark on the e's, and that the Portuguese forms are identical.