Lesson 5, part 11: demonstrative in italian

Italian demonstrative adjectives indicate closeness, or distance in space or time, of beings or objects with respect to the speaker or listener, or both. For comparison, in English there are four demonstrative adjectives: this, that, these, and those.

questo is used to indicate beings or things close to the speaker:
Questo vestito è elegante.
This dress is elegant.

Questa lettera è per Maria.
This letter is for Mary.

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The aphaeretic forms of questo are 'sto, 'sta, 'sti and 'ste (aphaeresis, in linguistic terms, refers to the loss of one or more sounds from the beginning of a word, especially the loss of an unstressed vowel). These forms have long been popular among Italian speakers, but for the most part only in spoken language.

codesto indicates beings or things close to the listener; the term is in disuse, though, and is usually replaced by quello:
Consegna codesto regalo che porti con te.
Deliver that gift that you are carrying.

See Also: Bello Quello - Aggettivi Dimostrativi

Allora leggiamolo codesto bigliettino. Cosa tergiversa?
So then, let's read that note. Why beat around the bush?

NOTE: codesto (and less frequently cotesto) is still used in the Tuscan dialect and in commercial and bureaucratic language.

Pertanto richiedo a codesto istituto…
I therefore request this institute...
quello indicates beings or things far from the speaker and the listener:
Quello scolaro è studioso.
That student is studious.

Quel ragazzo alto è mio cugino.
That tall boy is my cousin.

Quei bambini giocano.

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Those kids are playing.

Quegli artisti sono celebri.
Those artists are famous.

» quello follows the rules of the definite article

lo scolaro—quello scolaro
gli artisti—quegli artisti
i bambini—quei bambini

NOTE: always apostrophize before a vowel:

quell'uomo
that man

quell'attore
that actor

quel is the truncated form of quello:
quel giorno
that day

quel quadro
that picture