Esto issues

Question

Hi, there are two questions on the quiz that I don't understand: (1) "Esos chicles son mentolados pero  ____  no tienen sabor" and (2) "Esos estudiantes van a viajar a Asia pero ________ no tienen dinero." Kwiziq is saying that the correct demonstrative pronoun in both cases is "estos." However, my understanding was that demonstrative pronouns should vary in gender with the noun they refer to, unless it isn't known or we are referring to statement, idea, or situation. In 1, the noun being referred to is "chicles," which is a masculine plural noun, so the demonstrative pronoun should be "estes," not estos, correct? With 2, I understand that we may not know the gender of the group, so we use esto. Can you explain?

Accepted Answer

Hola Lukas
Many thanks for contacting us. In sentence 1, "estos" is used because "chicles" is a masculine plural noun.
In sentence 2, "estos" is used because "estudiantes" is treated as a masculine plural noun in a general context.

Kwiziq is correct in using "estos" (please note that "estes" doesn't exist) in both cases because it matches the gender and number of the nouns referred to in the sentences.
Saludos
Silvia